Holocaust and Genocide Education (SB 472)

Senate Bill 472 , Chapter 761 of the Statutes of 2025, requires the California Department of Education to provide notification to local educational agencies of statutory requirements and available resources relating to Holocaust and Genocide Education.

SB 472 Notification Regarding Holocaust and Genocide Education

Pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 51221.2, established by SB 472 (2025), this web page serves to notify California’s local educational agencies serving pupils in any of grades seven to twelve of the following:

1. Instruction in social studies provided pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220 is designed to provide a foundation for the understanding of human rights issues with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.
2. Holocaust and genocide education are part of the adopted History-Social Science Content Standards and Framework adopted by the state board.
3. The History-Social Science Framework adopted by the state board provides information about instruction on the Holocaust and genocide.

Education Code Section 51220

Social science instruction provided pursuant to subdivision (b) of EC Section 51220 is intended to ensure a strong foundation for students’ understanding of human rights issues. This includes particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, ensuring that instruction supports critical thinking, historical awareness, and civic understanding.

Districts are encouraged to review their curriculum and instructional practices to ensure alignment with these statutory expectations and to support meaningful learning experiences for all students.

History–Social Standards

The History–Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools (PDF) address the Holocaust and genocide in grades ten and eleven:

• 10.5.5 Students analyze the causes and consequences of the First World War: Discuss human rights violations and genocide, including the Ottoman government’s actions against Armenian citizens.
• 10.8.5 Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II: Analyze the Nazi policy of pursuing racial purity, especially against the European Jews; its transformation into the Final Solution; and the Holocaust that resulted in the murder of six million Jewish civilians.

• 10.9.6 Students analyze the international developments in the post-World War II world: Understand how the forces of nationalism developed in the Middle East, how the Holocaust affected world opinion regarding the need for a Jewish state, and the significance and effects of the location and establishment of Israel on world affairs.

• 11.7.5 Students analyze America’s participation in World War II: Discuss the constitutional issues and impact of events on the US home front, including the internment of Japanese Americans (e.g., Fred Korematsu v. United States of America) and the restrictions on German and Italian resident aliens; the response of the administration to Hitler’s atrocities against Jews and other groups; the roles of women in military production; and the roles and growing political demands of African Americans.

The History–Social Science Framework

The History–Social Science Framework for California Public Schools Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (PDF) provides narrative guidance aligned with the standards cited above, supporting educators in instructional planning and promoting comprehensive, thoughtful engagement with these complex topics.

Grade ten, chapter 15:

• Armenian Genocide, pp. 343–344
• Holocaust, pp. 353–355, 359
• Cambodian Genocide, pp. 358, 364–365
• Genocides in Rwanda, and Darfur, pp. 364–365

Grade eleven, chapter 16:

• American response to the Holocaust, p. 402

Model Curricula Projects

The Cambodian American Studies, Hmong History and Cultural Studies, Native American Studies, and Vietnamese American Experience model curricula were designed to assist kindergarten through grade twelve educators in teaching about the histories, cultures, and human rights concerns of these California communities. Each model curriculum includes numerous lessons and background information for teachers, including lessons and information on acts of genocide.

Antisemitism and Prevention Resources and Information

The California Department of Education (CDE) maintains an Antisemitism Prevention Resources and Information web page, which contains links to helpful websites for teachers planning lessons about the Holocaust and genocide:

• California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education : Statewide network of California’s leading Holocaust and genocide organizations that provides lesson plans, training, and other educational resources.
• Their Resources for Addressing Hate Toolkit supports districts and schools that are responding to hate, dehumanization, or violence in a school community.
• Human Rights and Genocide Model Curriculum : CDE document providing resources for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide in California schools (see below).
• Anti-Defamation League : Provides a collection of kindergarten through grade twelve curricula including Common Core-aligned lesson plans and multi-grade anti-bias curriculum guides that promote critical thinking and assist educators in teaching current events topics through the lens of diversity, bias, and social justice. Its Echoes & Reflections resource includes oral histories of Holocaust survivors as well as a variety of educator professional development opportunities.
• Holocaust Museum LA : Offers multiple resources for educators, including a virtual tour, teacher guides for two short films, a searchable digital archive, and virtual professional development. Teachers can also submit a request for a virtual guest speaker.
• Museum of Tolerance : Maintains an education page that includes lesson resources and links to free virtual professional development. In addition to standards-aligned lesson plans on topics that include the Holocaust, bullying prevention, and human rights, the Museum of Tolerance offers digital access to its archives and oral histories.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum : Promotes the responsible teaching of the Holocaust through a variety of resources and programs to help the nation's educators increase their knowledge of Holocaust history and implement sound teaching strategies. Education outreach programs provide teachers with quality Holocaust education, incorporating accurate history, appropriate pedagogy, classroom strategies, and teaching resources.

Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide

The state-adopted  Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide (PDF) gives local curriculum leaders and teachers guidance in classroom practices and aligns with the history–social science content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. The curriculum provides three objectives:

1. Study of the record of oppression of individuals and groups
2. Study of the governmental means to prohibit abuses of human rights
3. Encouragement of democratic values and attitudes to foster respect for differences among people and for the rights of all people

The model curriculum includes specific standards, course outlines, and vignettes that provide background to teachers on issues and events related to human rights and genocide.

The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum

California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) (PDF) provides guidance for school districts to design courses that center the histories, cultures, and contributions of historically marginalized groups. It aims to foster critical thinking, civic engagement, and a deeper understanding of identity, power, and social justice through inclusive, inquiry-based instruction aligned with state standards.

Within the ESMC, Holocaust and genocide education appears in lessons that emphasize both historical understanding and civic responsibility. These resources give students opportunities to analyze historical context, recognize patterns of mass violence, and build empathy and critical awareness in examining past and present injustice. The curriculum includes the following:

• A lesson on Jewish American identity, which examines challenging experiences such as prejudice, discrimination, antisemitism, hate crimes, and Holocaust denial (pp. 366–382)
• A lesson from Facing History and Ourselves from the unit “Holocaust and Human Behavior” that prompts students to explore ways that individuals, groups, communities, and nations define who belongs and who does not (p. 419)
• A lesson on antisemitism, introducing students to the concept and its manifestations through the lens of Jewish Middle Eastern Americans whose contemporary history includes experience as targets of discrimination, prejudice and hate crimes (pp. 360–365)

Survey on Holocaust and Genocide Education

Pursuant to EC 51221.2, the CDE will issue a survey to LEAs on the status of Holocaust and genocide instruction at their schools.