HIALEAH GARDENS, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday morning at a museum in Hialeah Gardens, preceding a bill signing with remarks at a lectern bearing the phrase “ANTI-COMMUNIST EDUCATION.”
Noting the 63rd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, DeSantis signed SB 1264 — “History of Communism” — which he said would make education about communism “much more comprehensive” for Florida students, in part by requiring new instruction in public schools beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
“This legislation is adding (the instruction of) history of communism in the United States as well as a review of the tactics used by communist activists and movements here in the United States and throughout history,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis was joined at the Hialeah Gardens Museum Honoring Brigade 2506 by Manny Diaz Jr., commissioner of the Florida Department of Education.
“What will happen is the history of communism in the United States, domestic movements including their histories and tactics, all of the atrocities that have occurred across the world, in foreign countries under the guidance of communists (...) all of this will be spread across the curriculum K through 12 and it will be done in a manner that is age-appropriate, like we do with all of our standards. So our students from elementary school through middle school through high school will have a foundation and an understanding so when they get to the higher ed level, they will not be fooled by anyone trying to tell them the story otherwise,” Diaz said.
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The governor on Tuesday signed a sweeping education bill in Jacksonville which in part changes the way books can be challenged in school districts, meant to limit the influx of complaints and keep people from making “a mockery” of the review process, he said.
See the 14 bills DeSantis signed on Monday and review what they do by clicking here.
Watch Wednesday’s news conference again in the video player below:
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