Florida is making the headlines again, this time for trying to pass a bill to instruct young kids about the threats of communism. HB 1349 would require that children as young as kindergarten learn about the atrocities committed under the guise of communism, as well as the history of communism in the United States and the increasing threat of a communist regime in America. The new curriculum would begin in the 2026 – 2027 school year if it passes.
And the bill appears to be making headway, with a vote of 10-2 supporting it. If passed, a Communism History Taskforce, appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, would create the curriculum.
During discussions in the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, Republican state Representative Chuck Brannan, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, stated that HB 1349 seeks to offer a thorough understanding of communism’s influence and the philosophy’s involvement in victimizing, torturing, murdering, and displacing millions of people throughout the previous century. Brannan emphasized that the intention behind the bill was not to engage in indoctrination or fear-mongering.
The original version of HB 1349 proposed that children should learn about “the philosophy and lineages of Communist thought, including cultural Marxism.” However, it was later amended to state: “The philosophy and lineages of Communist thought.”
A comparable bill has been introduced in the state Senate. Initially, the bill text included “the Third Reich of Nazi Germany” as one of the “foreign communist movements.” However, this was later amended and substituted with “Marxism-Leninism and the Russian Revolution of 1917” in the revised version of the Senate bill.
Naturally, Democrats are opposing HB 1349. Democratic state Representative Patricia Williams, one of the two representatives who voted against the bill during the subcommittee hearing, stated that the bill’s creators seek to “create division among students in the classroom.”
Julie Meadows-Keefe of Florida Moms for Accurate Education agrees with Williams, adding that she hopes that the issue of censorship and banning books in communist nations will also be part of the proposed curriculum. “If we’re going to present this curriculum, I would hope that it would be balanced,” Meadows-Keefe said, suggesting the inclusion of teachings about the history of the McCarthy era in the U.S. She emphasized the importance of acknowledging the political repression faced by left-wing Americans during the early years of the Cold War.
In 2022, former President Donald Trump established November 7 as the National Day for the Victims of Communism. The date was chosen because it was the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which kicked off communism in the 20th century. The law requires public schools to dedicate at least 45 minutes on this day to teach high school students about communism using materials from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. The law also encourages states and local governments to recognize this day and to talk about the human rights abuses and atrocities committed by communist regimes to stoke young people’s desire to protect freedom and democracy in America.
Representative Alina Garcia emphasized the importance of teaching children about the horrors of communism from an early age. She remarked, “It is never too early to teach our children the atrocities of communism,” highlighting the potential consequences if the country were to ever fall under communist rule.
But fears of a communist rule in America may already be coming true. John Labriola, a representative of the human rights and social justice advocacy group Christian Family Coalition, explains that the American counterpart of communism is cultural Marxism. Cultural Marxism has been slowly infiltrating nearly every aspect of life in America. “It’s been manifested in things like the critical race theory, using the victim oppressor narratives, as well as the sexual orientation agendas of the LGBT movement, using things like gender identity,” he said.
Florida has already enacted laws to protect children in school. Laws have been put into effect to prohibit the teaching of sexual orientation or gender identity to children until the fourth grade. Additionally, educators are barred from discussing race-based advantages or disadvantages in classrooms, and schools must maintain catalogs of all books they possess. Teachers who breach these regulations risk severe consequences that could jeopardize their careers.
DeSantis keeps Florida at the forefront of the battle for America, enacting legislation to protect the nation’s most vulnerable minds. And Democrats, who celebrated his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, are beginning to see he can cause more trouble for them as a governor than he would have as a president.
