TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida schools are one step closer to implementing instruction on the history of, and the "increasing threat" of, communism, due to a bill barreling through the Florida Legislature.
"27-30 percent of our children right now believe that communism is something that they'd like to try in this nation. If that doesn't bother you, I'm concerned," SB 1264's sponsor, Republican Sen. Jay Collins, said in Tuesday's Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.
"We've seen what happens. The reality of communism is that it always turns out the same: it is a stain on human existence. It has led to hundreds of millions of deaths across the world and it will not go any differently here."
The bill requires an "age-appropriate" instruction on communism starting in the 2026-2027 school year. It goes further, mandating the Department of Education prepare standards for instruction on the history of communism, and under the newest form of the bill, would create "The Institute for Freedom in the Americas" at Miami Dade College.
The Institute for Freedom in the Americas is designed "to preserve the ideals of a free society and promote democracy in the Americas", and would partner with Florida International University's non-partisan think tank, the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom.
These new additions to the bill worried Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood, who had voted in favor of the bill at its last committee hearing. "In an educational setting, we're supposed to expose students to information. History has good parts and history has bad parts," she said.
"In a classroom, you present the facts: the pros and the cons. Once I put my perspective on it, then it is indoctrination. Once I put my perspective on it, then it is trying to persuade someone to take my thoughts...I am a no because of the amendment."
A previous version of the bill provided for a "Communism Task Force", made up of Governor-appointed officials to decide on the communism curriculum for students. Public concerns were raised, and since then the provision has been fully removed.
Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud, on the other hand, voiced her strong support for the bill, stressing the importance of educating children on the dangerous threat that communism embodies. "Communism is a vehicle for authoritarianism, it's a vehicle to steal one's civil rights. It's a way to collectivize and make public all assets."
The bill passed down party lines and will head to the Senate Floor. Its House companion must also pass the Floor.
