Earlier Tuesday evening, the California Senate, with a vote of 36-0, unanimously passed the Armenian Genocide Education Act (AB 1915), which adds Armenian Genocide survivor and witness oral testimonies into the teachings of human rights in California public schools and encourages state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with resources to teach about the Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

“The ANCA WR applauds the California State Senate for their steadfast support on this critical education bill and Senators De Leon and Mark Wyland along with co-authors Assemblymembers Nazarian and Katcho Achadjian for their unwavering commitment and leadership,” stated Nora Hovsepian, Chair of ANCA Western Region.

Let us inform that the California Senate also passed the act authored by Adrin Nazarian and Khacho Achadjian, demanding that the Armenian Genocide be included in the social studies program for 7^th-12^th graders and calling on California’s Department of Education release publications on the Armenian Genocide and prepare teaching materials.

On 18 June, the California Senate’s Education Committee passed the act that also calls on educators to include stories about the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, as well as memoirs of survivors of the genocides of Cambodia, Darfur and Ruanda.

Currently, California is one of 11 states, including Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Virginia, which have the Armenian Genocide included in their curriculum.

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