A school administrator in Texas told teachers during a training session to present an âopposingâ view if they teach books about the Holocaust.
According to a recording of an Oct. 8 training session obtained by NBC News, Gina Peddy, the Carroll Independent School Districtâs executive director of curriculum and instruction, told teachers, âJust try to remember the concepts of 3979.â
As the outlet explains, Peddy was âreferring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing âwidely debated and currently controversialâ issues.â
âAnd make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives,â Peddy said.
One teacher asked, âHow do you oppose the Holocaust?â
âBelieve me, thatâs come up,â Peddy responded.
The training session reportedly came after the school board reprimanded a fourth-grade teacher after a parent complained that the educator had an anti-racism book in her classroom.
Listen to the audio below:
Karen Fitzgerald told NBC News, âOur district recognizes that all Texas teachers are in a precarious position with the latest legal requirements.â
âOur purpose is to support our teachers in ensuring they have all of the professional development, resources, and materials needed. Our district has not and will not mandate books be removed, nor will we mandate that classroom libraries be unavailable,â she added.
And in a statement on Thursday, Lane Ledbetter, the superintendent of the school district, said, âDuring the conversations with teachers during last weekâs meeting, the comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history.â
âAdditionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust. As we continue to work through implementation of HB3979, we also understand this bill does not require an opposing viewpoint on historical facts,â the statement continued.
đș Embedded media â coming soon
Finally, Ledbetter said, âAs a district we will work to add clarity to our expectations for teachers and once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused.â
