New York City public schools will implement a curriculum designed to teach students about hate crimes and bias incidents and their impact on individuals and communities, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced in a release on Tuesday.
The New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) and the Department of Education partnered with Facing History and Ourselves, an organization that "uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate."
The curriculum titled 'Teaching About Hate Crimes and their Impacts' includes five lessons on diversity, critical thinking, and civic engagement, the release said. Students will learn to identify motives and behaviors that cause hate crimes, examine the impacts of current hate crime trends on communities and design initiatives that promote inclusion and collective action.
'At a breaking point'
“Our children are at a breaking point, and investing in programming that fosters a greater understanding of diversity and the importance of inclusion is an important way to dam one of the many rivers that feeds the sea of hate,” Adams said in the release.
The lessons are available to students in grades 6-12. It's unclear if the curriculum will be implemented during the remainder of this school year. The mayor's office said Facing History and Ourselves has provided training for NYC educators and will provide more training opportunities over the next year.
“Hate has no home in our schools, and we are proud to partner with the OPHC in the fight against bigotry,” Department of Education Chancellor David Banks said. “We are educating our youth about the dangers of hate both to meet this challenging moment in our world and to build a brighter future for us all.”
Adams' release of the curriculum comes as incidents of antisemitisim at NYC schools since October 7 made national headlines with Jewish teachers and students being targeted and threatened.
In November, hundreds of students at a Queens high school "rampaged through the halls" after discovering a teacher participated in a pro-Israel rally.
In March, students at a Brooklyn high school were accused of expressing admiration for Hitler and making Nazi salutes.