In a state where teaching children about the evils of slavery has become a lightning rod, a new Florida law requires lessons “on the dangers and evils of communism” for all students, according to a news release from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ officer.
The governor signed the education bill (SB 1264) into law last week in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., to coincide with the 63rd anniversary of the Bay of Pigs, he said. The 1961 invasion of Cuba was a failed attempt by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
“The truth will set us free,” DeSantis said in a statement. “We will not allow our students to live in ignorance, nor be indoctrinated by communist apologists in schools. To the contrary, we will ensure students in Florida are taught the truth about the evils and dangers of communism.”
The new law requires age-appropriate history lessons for students in kindergarten through 12th grade to include instruction on the history of communism in the U.S. and the tactics of communist movements. The goal is to prepare students “to withstand indoctrination on communism at colleges and universities,” the governor's office said.
Additionally, the law allows for the creation of the Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College. The institute will “promote the importance of economic and individual freedoms as a means to advance human progress – specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean” – and partner with the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University, according to DeSantis’ office.
The law also enables the Florida Department of State, working with the Florida Department of Education, to recommend the creation of a Florida-based museum on the history of communism to the state Legislature.
“It is vitally important that every student learns about the dangers of communism,” Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said. “I know firsthand the evils that communism brings, and I am proud to stand by Gov. DeSantis as he signs this legislation to ensure Florida remains the bastion of freedom.”
Meanwhile, last year, Florida’s Department of Education released new African American history standards that included language on how some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills.
In January 2023 the DeSantis administration also blocked a new high school Advanced Placement course on African American studies from being taught, calling it a Trojan horse for “indoctrinating” students with a left-wing ideology under the guise of teaching about the Black experience and African American history.