Section 329.494 - [Operative 9/1/2025] Instruction about the Holocaust and genocide(1) The State Board of Education, in consultation with a local organization that has the primary purpose of providing education about the Holocaust, shall develop academic content standards for Holocaust and genocide studies that comply with the requirements of this section. School districts must provide instruction on the Holocaust and genocide based on standards adopted by the board under this section.(2) Instruction required under this section must be designed to:(a) Prepare students to confront the immorality of the Holocaust, genocide and other acts of mass violence and to reflect on the causes of related historical events;(b) Develop students' respect for cultural diversity and help students gain insight into the importance of the protection of international human rights for all people;(c) Promote students' understanding of how the Holocaust contributed to the need for the term "genocide" and led to international legislation that recognized genocide as a crime;(d) Stimulate students' reflection on the roles and responsibilities of citizens in democratic societies to combat misinformation, indifference and discrimination through tools of resistance such as protest, reform and celebration;(e) Provide students with opportunities to contextualize and analyze patterns of human behavior by individuals and groups who belong in one or more categories, including perpetrator, collaborator, bystander, victim and rescuer;(f) Enable students to understand the ramifications of prejudice, racism and stereotyping;(g) Preserve the memories of survivors of genocide and provide opportunities for students to discuss and honor survivors' cultural legacies;(h) Provide students with a foundation for examining the history of discrimination in this state; and(i) Explore the various mechanisms of transitional and restorative justice that help humanity move forward in the aftermath of genocide.(3) The Department of Education shall provide technical assistance to school districts for the purpose of providing instruction required by this section. Section 5 (3), chapter 253, Oregon Laws 2019, provides:
Sec. 5. (3)(a) A school district must first offer instruction that meets the academic content standards of ORS 329.494 (1), as amended by section 4, chapter 253, Oregon Laws 2019, no later than the 2026-2027 school year.
(b) Nothing in paragraph (a) of this subsection prevents a school district from first offering instruction that meets the academic content standards of ORS 329.494 (1), as amended by section 4, chapter 253, Oregon Laws 2019, at any time from the beginning of the social sciences instructional materials cycle adopted by the State Board of Education until the school year set forth in paragraph (a) of this subsection. [2019 c. 253, § 5; 2023 c. 588, § 1(3)]