Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
9h ago

Florida Approves ‘History of Communism’ Curriculum, Signs Heritage Pledge

The DeSantis-appointed board set a 2026–2027 rollout that reframes McCarthyism, directing instruction on the “evils of communism.”

FILE - Dalton Trumbo, center, dark suit, Hollywood film writer is escorted from the witness stand by police Sgt. George Kaelber after he refused to tell the House Un-American Activities Committee, whether he is or has been a communist, Oct. 28, 1947, in Washington. The committee voted to cite him for contempt of Congress. (AP Photo/William J. Smith, File)
FILE - Dalton Trumbo, left, Hollywood screenwriter, shouts from the witness stand as he tries to make a statement before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Oct. 28, 1947, in Washington. At right is his attorney Robert Kenny. Trumbo was excused from further testimony when he refused to state whether he is or has been a communist. (AP Photo/Byron Rollins, File)
FILE - Sen. Joseph McCarthy gestures during a Senate subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on McCarthy's charges of communist infiltration of the U.S. State Department, March 9, 1950. (AP Photo/Herbert K. White, File)
FILE - A student raises her hand at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Overview

  • The seven-member State Board of Education, all appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted unanimously to adopt the new standards and to sign a Heritage Foundation pledge on teaching “good and evil” and fostering patriotism.
  • The curriculum, prompted by a 2024 law, spans about 30 pages with more than 100 benchmarks, exceeding the space devoted to American history or civics in Florida’s standards.
  • The standards present Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee as anti-communist exemplars and include guidance that treats uses of the term “McCarthyism” as slander against anti-communists.
  • Historians, educators, and figures such as Mitzi Trumbo condemned the approach as ideological or propagandistic, warning it tells students what to think and downplays repression during the Red Scare.
  • Implementation is slated for the 2026–2027 school year, with related mandates such as instruction on Florida’s Victims of Communism Day, as textbook publishers and districts begin preparing materials.