southlake

Jewish Southlake Residents on Holocaust Remark: ‘There Are Not Two Sides'

Monday’s school board meeting was the first time residents had a public forum to raise concerns about the school administrator's comment

NBC 5 News

At a tense school board meeting Monday night in Southlake, a former student gave painful testimony about antisemitic bullying that he said he endured in the Carroll Independent School District. 

Teachers grew emotional as they described feeling unsupported and under attack.  

And many parents defended a district administrator who told teachers to offer students books showing “opposing” perspectives on the Holocaust, saying she was trying to follow a problematic new state law, while also condemning her interpretation of that law.

The administrator’s comment, secretly recorded by a Carroll staff member during a training session this month and shared with NBC News, sparked international outrage and put a spotlight on a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues. The administrator, Gina Peddy, the school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, has not replied to messages requesting comment. 

In response to NBC News’ coverage of Peddy’s remark, Carroll’s superintendent, Lane Ledbetter, issued an apology last week, acknowledging that there “are not two sides of the Holocaust” and pledging to work with his staff to clarify the district’s policy.

Read the full story here on NBCNews.com

A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.
Contact Us