TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida bill filed last month would require state schools to teach the history of communism for grades potentially as young as Kindergarten.
The bill, SB 1264, was filed on Jan. 3 by state Sen. Jay Collins, R-District 14.
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According to the bill, it would create a “History of Communism Task Force” within the Department of Education, with task force members appointed by the governor.
The group itself would be responsible for crafting recommendations for state education leaders by July 1, 2025, about curriculum standards and instruction on the history of communism in grades K-12.
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Those recommendations would be required to include the following:
- “The history of domestic communist movements and their tactics within the United States”
- “The philosophy and lineages of communist thought, including Marxism”
- “Foreign communist movements of the 20th century, the atrocities committed by such movements, and the threat they posed to the United States and its allies”
- “The economic, industrial, and political events that preceded and contributed to the formation of such movements”
- “The communist socioeconomic policies of Cuba, the history of the Communist Party of Cuba, and the spread of communism and communist guerrilla forces in Latin America.”
Examples of other communist movements provided in the bill include the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China and the Third Reich of Nazi Germany.
“Frankly, there is no benefit to communism. It leads to the same inevitable stain on the human experience. Period,” Collins said. “Loss of life, pain, trauma, families destroyed.”
After recommendations are provided, the Florida Board of Education would then be responsible for developing a curriculum about the history of communism, the bill reads.
The bill was approved by the Committee on Education Pre-K-12 on Tuesday by a unanimous vote. It was referred to two other committees for consideration.
A companion bill in the House of Representatives, HB 1349, seeks to create similar standards, though the House bill would start the History of Communism curriculum in the 2026-2027 school year.
If approved, the act would take effect on July 1, 2024.
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