OLYMPIA, Wash. – A bill that would require public school students to learn about the Holocaust and other genocides has failed in the Washington Senate.
HB2037 passed the House with unanimous support on February 10, but will not advance to the full Senate for a vote.
The bill died due to disagreements over amendments between Sen. Lisa Wellman (D), Rep. Emily Alvarado (D), and the bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Travis Couture (R). It seems like it has.
The amendment expands the scope of the bill and adds language that would require an anti-bias review process in the development of educational curriculum.
Couture argued that the proposed changes were unnecessary and said he was not notified by Wellman or Alvarado of the proposed changes in advance.
In a joint statement, the Holocaust Humanitarian Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle expressed disappointment that the policy did not reach the governor's desk this legislative session.
“Although we did not originate this bill, we supported and worked hard to advance this strong, impactful, bipartisan bill…But extreme political views have led us to The bill has become vague to suit its purpose,” the groups said.
The bill would direct the Office of Public Instruction to develop educational materials for grades 6-12 about genocide and other crimes against humanity. April was also scheduled to be designated as International Genocide Prevention Awareness Month.
The joint statement argued that the lack of Holocaust education in Washington's education curriculum risks perpetuating anti-Semitism in public life.
“The failure of our Congress to pass this bill will allow anti-Semitic institutions to flourish,” the groups said.
The bill failed to pass during the 2023-24 legislative two-year period, so it would have to be completely reintroduced next year to have a chance of becoming law.
