Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1264
By Senator Collins
14-01141-24 20241264__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the History of Communism Task
3 Force; amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; requiring
4 instruction in public schools on the history of
5 communism; requiring each school district to annually
6 certify to the department that it provided instruction
7 on the subject; creating s. 1003.441, F.S.; creating
8 the History of Communism Task Force within the
9 Department of Education; requiring the task force to
10 work with the Division of Historical Resources within
11 the Department of State to make recommendations by a
12 specified date to the State Board of Education and the
13 Commissioner of Education for curriculum standards and
14 instruction on communist history; providing
15 requirements for the recommendations; requiring the
16 board to develop a curriculum based on the
17 recommendations; authorizing the task force to
18 recommend to the Legislature the creation of a museum
19 of communist history; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Paragraph (v) is added to subsection (2) of
24 section 1003.42, Florida Statutes, to read:
25 1003.42 Required instruction.—
26 (2) Members of the instructional staff of the public
27 schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education
28 and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and
29 faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the
30 highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy,
31 following the prescribed courses of study, and employing
32 approved methods of instruction, the following:
33 (v)1. The history of communism.
34 2. Each school district shall annually certify to the
35 department, in a format prescribed by the department, that it
36 faithfully provided instruction on this subject, as specified by
37 the board pursuant to s. 1003.441(3).
38
39 The State Board of Education is encouraged to adopt standards
40 and pursue assessment of the requirements of this subsection.
41 Instructional programming that incorporates the values of the
42 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor and that is
43 offered as part of a social studies, English Language Arts, or
44 other schoolwide character building and veteran awareness
45 initiative meets the requirements of paragraph (u).
46 Section 2. Section 1003.441, Florida Statutes, is created
47 to read:
48 1003.441 History of Communism Task Force.—
49 (1) There is created within the Department of Education the
50 History of Communism Task Force. Members of the task force shall
51 be appointed by the Governor.
52 (2) The task force shall work with the Division of
53 Historical Resources within the Department of State to make
54 recommendations by July 1, 2025, to the State Board of Education
55 and the Commissioner of Education for curriculum standards and
56 instruction on the history of communism for kindergarten through
57 grade 12.
58 (a) Such recommendations must include:
59 1. The history of domestic communist movements and their
60 tactics within the United States.
61 2. The philosophy and lineages of communist thought,
62 including Marxism.
63 3. Foreign communist movements of the 20th century, the
64 atrocities committed by such movements, and the threat they
65 posed to the United States and its allies. Such movements
66 include, but are not limited to, the Great Proletarian Cultural
67 Revolution in China, the Third Reich of Nazi Germany, other
68 communist regimes, and the economic, industrial, and political
69 events that preceded and contributed to the formation of such
70 movements.
71 4. The communist socioeconomic policies of Cuba, the
72 history of the Communist Party of Cuba, and the spread of
73 communism and communist guerrilla forces in Latin America.
74 (b) Such instruction must inform students that communism
75 poses a threat to freedom.
76 (3) The board shall develop a curriculum on the history of
77 communism based on the recommendations of the task force.
78 (4) The task force may recommend to the Legislature the
79 creation of a museum of communist history.
80 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.