Florida Board of Education Approves Plan to Add History of Communism to Curriculum

A comprehensive history of communism instruction will become a part of the state’s social studies academic standards.

The Florida Department of Education in Tallahassee, Fla., on July 25, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida’s middle and high school students will learn about the history of communism as part of their basic curriculum beginning in the 2026–27 academic year.

The state board of education voted unanimously to approve the change to Florida’s social studies academic standards on Nov. 13, further advancing the push made by Florida lawmakers that began years ago.

“These standards provide students with a deeper understanding of how communist regimes have suppressed freedoms, how these regimes have abused power, and how they have inflicted suffering across the world,” Paul Burns, senior chancellor of the Florida Department of Education, told the board.

“We are adopting these standards today, so that we can then put these standards into courses which the board will be considering.

“Part of the reason we’re doing that is to make sure then that we can get great textbooks, or the word that we use is our aligned instructional materials can be adopted, and then everything will be in place for our students moving forward.”

The comprehensive instruction was listed alongside American History, as well as Holocaust Education, Civics and Government, World History, Financial Literacy, and Economics. Put forward after convening Florida educators and content experts, the new standards will teach children to recognize the difference between systems of economics and government in communist countries and those of America’s free-market capitalist constitutional republic.

One assignment listed among the new academic standards asks students to “analyze how Communism and Totalitarianism are antithetical to the American ideals of liberty, justice, and equality.” Students are tasked with comparing Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto” to the U.S. Bill of Rights.

A focus will be placed on human rights, freedom of speech, and the results of communist centralized economic planning, including death tolls and labor camps.

The new standards also require an understanding of the origins of communism, colonial America’s early attempts at collectivism in Jamestown and the Plymouth Colony, and the reasons the colonists shifted away from it to private ownership, such as a lack of incentive to work and resulting mass starvation.

“With the resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world, it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes,” Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a statement following the vote.

“Florida’s new History of Communism standards will ensure that students learn the truth about the brutal realities of life under communism and gain a deeper appreciation for the blessings of liberty that define our nation.”

The push to include education on communism has been a theme of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s second term. In 2022, he signed House Bill 395 into law, establishing Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Day in Florida.

The law requires students “to learn about the failures and atrocities of communist regimes,” at least on that day, per the Florida Department of Education. That education must include instruction on Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot, as well as their respective revolutions and authoritarian systems. Caribbean figures Fidel Castro and Nicolas Maduro were also included in the requirements.

One day of remembrance and learning was not deemed sufficient by Florida’s lawmakers. In April 2024, the governor signed Senate Bill 1264, tasking the Department of Education with adding history and the dangers of communism to its curriculum.

“Honoring the people that have fallen victim to communist regimes and teaching our students about those atrocities is the best way to ensure that history does not repeat itself,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in 2022.

“We are guaranteeing that the history of those who fled communist regimes and their experiences are preserved and not forgotten by our students. While it’s fashionable in some circles to whitewash the history of communism, Florida will stand for truth and remain as a beachhead for freedom.”