Despite dissent from Democratic legislators, Florida’s efforts to double down on its intent to educate its students on communism and its atrocities the world over have passed favorably through all committees and subcommittees back to the House of Representatives and state Senate for a vote.
The bill also calls for a “comparative discussion of political ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism, which conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.”
In creating the curriculum standards, the bill advises the Department of Education to “seek input from any individual who was a victim of communism.” It would also create the Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College and a museum dedicated to the history of communism.
“This is ensuring that we’re teaching functionally what’s going on, about socialism, about communism,” said Republican state Sen. Jay Collins, the bill’s sponsor. “We’ve heard in these committees and you’ve seen them talking in the hallways, the effect on families, the effect on nations. Ultimately, we want to make sure that we’re doing this right. And that’s what this has focused on.”
‘Indoctrination’
As both bills made their way through their subcommittee and committee hearings, and several people came forward to share their own first- or second-hand accounts of communism, they faced opposition from the left.
One primary concern they brought forward was that the bills originally proposed the establishment of a Communism Education Task Force to create the curriculum. That element appears to have been eliminated from both versions to put control back under the Department of Education.
However, several democratic voices still spoke out against the bill at the Senate committee hearing, questioning whether the extra focus is even necessary given the current curriculum and whether it could be made “age appropriate” for students as young as kindergarten.
“We already know that economics instruction, American history, [and] world history already includes communism,” Democratic state Sen. Geraldine F. Thompson said. “And so I’m wondering what the motivation is to just take communism out and make it a separate area that we’re going to focus on. It’s duplicative.”
Concern about how the curriculum would be finalized was also raised, and some who spoke went so far as to accuse the bill of pushing for “indoctrination.”
“The word ‘communist’ and the word ’socialist' are used as pejoratives, without [knowing] what the substance is, without the real history. It’s insults,” said Jessica Brason of the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida. “And what does it mean to require to teach children that communism and socialism is bad? In communist countries like North Korea, they are teaching children that communism is good and capitalism is bad. In both cases, this is not education. It is indoctrination.”
She followed her fellow club member, Dr. Joan Waitkevicz, who said: “If we are teaching older students about human rights abuses and the trauma that people in this hemisphere have suffered under communist regimes, it is also only right to give equal time to discuss the sufferings of people under fascism, militarism, or religious-based authoritarian regimes.”
Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman voted in favor of the bill in a previous subcommittee but decided to withdraw her support. She spent the majority of her speaking time questioning Mr. Collins about how students would be taught to view current events such as Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and the prior correspondence between former President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
She and others also expressed their dissatisfaction with how African American studies have been handled by the recent education reforms.
“This is not an indoctrination, and what I find frustrating here is that I think we’re getting lost in a tree and not seeing the forest here in the state of Florida,” Mr. Collins said. “This isn’t about race, creed, color, gender. I’m not going to lose the focus on this bill because of a conversation on another bill from [the] last session.”
Republican state Sen. Alexis Calatayud said, “When we’re teaching our children the devastation and the real-life events that occurred under the flag of communism, in any different language, under any different flag, we understand that it is to crush the human spirit. And it’s important that American children ... understand that when any institution or any ideological principle comes to take from you, your civil liberties and your public assets and every other part of your personality.
Partisan Divide
The Senate bill passed the Education PreK–12 subcommittee with a 10–0 vote, and it passed the Appropriations Committee on Education with a vote of 6–0. However, its unanimous support ended in the Fiscal Policy Committee, and it went to the Senate floor after a 13–6 vote.Although the list of yeas and nays has yet to be released, Ms. Berman and Ms. Thompson could be heard voting “no.”
On the other side of the Capitol, HB 1349 was rejected by Democratic state Reps. Lisa Dunkley, Angela Nixon, Katherine Waldron, and Susan L. Valdés in the Choice and Innovation subcommittee. Democratic state Rep. Kevin D. Chambliss voted in favor with 10 Republicans to get it to the PreK–12 Appropriations subcommittee, where Democratic state Reps. Patricia H. Williams and LaVon Bracy Davis voted against it. Ms. Dunkley and two remaining Democrats, state Reps. Dan Daley and Kimberly Daniels, missed the vote.
The House bill’s final hurdle was in the Education and Employment Committee, and by that time, it earned the support of Ms. Daniels, Ms. Waldron, Ms. Valdés, and all other Democratic members except for Ms. Williams.
John Labriola, who appeared before the committee representing the Christian Family Coalition of Florida, highlighted the divide as he spoke in favor of the bill.
He said he was unhappy that the voting fell along party lines.
“We really feel that that should not be happening in the United States,” Mr. Labriola said.
“We should all be united around the principle that communism is evil and should not be repeated here in this country.”
