![A book shelf with Holocaust-centered books [Shutterstock/photo-denver]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/holocaust-book-scaled-e1634302173346.jpg "A book shelf with Holocaust-centered books [Shutterstock/photo-denver]")
A North Texas school district superintendent apologized Thursday night for a district administrator who told teachers they should include books with “opposing” views of the Holocaust, according to reports.
Gina Peddy, the Carroll Independent School District’s director of curriculum and instruction, told teachers Friday that they should include a book “opposing” the Holocaust, according to audio obtained by NBC. She said this is needed to comply with Texas’ new law requiring teachers present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” topics.
“As you go through, just try to remember the concepts of [Texas House Bill] 3979, and make sure that if, if you have a book on the Holocaust that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives,” Peddy said.
NEW: A school administrator in Southlake, Texas, advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also have a book with an “opposing” perspective.
Listen to the audio recording obtained by @NBCNews: https://t.co/vS0IjlROMu pic.twitter.com/yPtM1ncjgV
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 14, 2021
“How do you opposed the Holocaust? What?” one shocked teacher responded. (RELATED: Texas Governor Signs Bill That Prohibits Schools From Teaching An Individual To Feel ‘Anguish’ Or ‘Guilt’ Due To Their Race Or Gender)
“Believe me, that’s come up,” Peddy said.
“So, ‘Number The Stars?'” the teacher asked, referencing a popular book.
Carroll Independent School District Superintendent Lane Ledbetter apologized over the comment Thursday.
“During the conversations with teachers during last week’s meeting, the comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history,” Ledbetter wrote. “Additionally, 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.”
Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, who wrote the Senate version of the bill, said the law does not require teachers provide contradictory views on matters of “good and evil,” according to NBC.
“That’s not what the bill says,” Hughes reportedly said Wednesday. “I’m glad we can have this discussion to help elucidate what the bill says, because that’s not what the bill says.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill in June, with it going into effect Sep. 1.
The law prohibits curriculum that teaches an individual “should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or sex.” While the term critical race theory is not explicitly used in the bill, the legislation addresses Republicans’ concerns about the curriculum. Teachers are prohibited from teaching that individuals are responsible for acts committed in the past by other individuals of the same race or sex or that an individual is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive because of their race or sex.
Critical race theory holds America is fundamentally racist and teaches students to view each social interaction in terms of race.