U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the Never Again Education Act, which seeks to expand Holocaust education in the United States, into law on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation told JNS.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in January, while the U.S. Senate did so on May 13.
The upcoming official signing, which according to the source will occur in a private ceremony with no outside guests due to travel and other restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, happens to come during Jewish American Heritage Month.
The legislation would expand the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (USHMM) education programming to teachers nationwide, requiring the museum to develop and disseminate resources to improve awareness and understanding of the Holocaust and its lessons.
There would be $2 million allocated annually for this year and each of the next four years to the Holocaust Education Assistance Program Fund, administered by the USHMM’s governing body, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Private donations for the fund would be permitted.
The measure would create an online Holocaust-education repository of resources for educators to teach both middle-school and high school students about the genocide that killed 11 million people, 6 million of whom were Jews.
Currently, 18 states either encourage or require teaching about the Holocaust.
