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Maryland hearing draws wide testimony on bill to add Palestinian history to school curriculum and name anti‑Palestinian bias
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Summary
Witnesses at the Ways and Means Committee urged favorably reporting HB 12 02, a bill that would require the State Department of Education to develop nonpartisan curriculum materials on Palestinian history and explicitly include anti‑Palestinian bias in anti‑bullying policies; testimony included accounts of local hate incidents and curricular omissions.
Delegate Gabriel Acevedo asked the Ways and Means Committee on behalf of HB 12 02 to require the State Board of Education and MSDE to develop factual, age‑appropriate curriculum materials on the history and culture of Palestine and to update anti‑bullying frameworks to cover anti‑Palestinian conduct. "This bill is about inclusion, historical understanding, and respect for human dignity," Acevedo said.
Supporters — including students, parents, civil‑rights groups and Jewish and Palestinian community organizations — described recent incidents they said showed the need for clearer curriculum guidance and stronger protections in schools. Zainab Choudhary of CAIR‑Maryland said staff and students had encountered anti‑Palestinian slurs and that, in at least one case, school officials initially failed to recognize that Palestinian identity encompasses both Muslims and Christians. "Condemnations are not enough," she said, urging substantive curricular and policy changes.
Student testimony emphasized the emotional impact of curricular erasure. River Hill High School tenth‑grader Leila Abogder told the committee that omitting Palestinian history from lessons made students feel invisible and dehumanized. "When Palestinian stories are skipped over, it sends a message that their history and identity do not matter," she said.
Several witnesses recounted recent episodes of hateful graffiti, citing a widely reported incident at Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County. Advocates said local responses were uneven: the district publicly condemned Islamophobic messages, but supporters argued the anti‑Palestinian element was not always addressed with equal clarity. Acevedo and witnesses said MSDE had, in one instance, removed references to Palestine from the state social studies framework and later reinstated them after public pressure; proponents said statutory direction would prevent future omissions.
Jonathan Rochkind of Jewish Voice for Peace (Baltimore chapter) and other Jewish witnesses testified in favor, saying that teaching Palestinian history is compatible with Holocaust education and other inclusion efforts. "Recognizing Palestinian identity, culture and history is no threat to Jewish communities," Rochkind said.
Opposition was limited on the record; one individual had registered in opposition but did not appear to testify. Committee members asked about safeguards to keep instruction nonpartisan and age‑appropriate; Acevedo said the standards would be developed collaboratively with historians, educators and civil‑rights stakeholders.
The bill does not prescribe classroom materials but directs MSDE and the state board to produce standards and resources that local districts can adopt. If the committee returns a favorable report, the next procedural step would be committee deliberation and potential amendment before floor consideration.
Provenance: HB 12 02 was introduced in the hearing starting with Delegate Acevedo’s remarks and the witness panels (SEG 2643–SEG 3455).
