Florida Principal: Holocaust Is Not A ‘Factual, Historical Event’
Spanish River Community High School Principal William Latson Image by palmbeachschools.org
(JTA) — A high school principal in Boca Raton, Florida, told a parent that inquired about the school’s educational plan for teaching the Holocaust that “Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened.”
Spanish River Community High School principal William Latson wrote in an April 2018 email that “the curriculum is to be introduced but not forced upon individuals as we all have the same rights but not all the same beliefs.”
The exchange of emails was first reported by the Palm Beach Post, which obtained the emails through a public records request.
When the parent, who is not named in the report to protect the identity of her child, asked the principal to clarify his remarks, telling him that the Holocaust is a “factual, historical event,” he doubled down saying: “You have your thoughts, but we are a public school and not all of our parents have the same beliefs.” He said that as a school district employee he cannot take a position on the Holocaust.
The school with about 2,500 students is said to have one of the county’s largest Jewish student populations in the county, according to the report.
In a statement to The Post, Latson, who has been principal since 2011, apologized, saying his email “did not accurately reflect my professional and personal commitment to educating all students about the atrocities of the Holocaust.”
The school’s educational offerings on the Holocaust exceed the state’s requirements, according to Latson, though not all of the offerings actually take place in the classroom. The parent proposed a change, adopted this school year, which has every 10th grader read “Night” by Elie Wiesel.
Latson was not disciplined for his emails.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
