9B4CD4B9C174D04A87258582000D0A65 Hearing Summary

Senators Fenberg and Hisey, bill sponsors, presented the House Bill 20-1336.  The bill requires that the State Board of Education (SBE) adopt standards related to Holocaust and genocide studies no later than July 1, 2022.  Adoption of these standards is contingent upon the receipt of sufficient gifts, grants, and donations.

Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and contingent upon the adoption of SBE standards by July 1, 2023, each school district board of education and charter school must incorporate the standards on Holocaust and genocide studies into an existing course that is required for graduation.  School districts and charter schools may utilize materials in the newly created resource bank, or alternative materials based on best practices and that are developed using input from experts.

The bill also requires that Colorado Department of Education (CDE) create a publicly available resource bank that includes sample academic content, instruction programs, learning resource, professional developments, and case studies related to Holocaust and genocide studies.  The resource bank must be available by July 1, 2021, and CDE may accept gifts, grants and donations for that purpose.  Both the standards and resource bank must be developed with input from experts.

Written testimony submitted for House Bill 20-1336 may be found in Attachment C.