Florida to Require Special Student Instruction on "Victims of Communism Day

MIAMI – On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he is signing legislation that will make November 7 "Victims of Communism Day“ in the state. The bill calls for Florida public schools to observe the holiday and for high school students taking a U.S. government class to receive at least 45 minutes of dedicated class instruction for the holiday, beginning in the 2023-24 school year.

"Honoring the people that have fallen victim to communist regimes and teaching our students about those atrocities is the best way to ensure that history does not repeat itself,“ said DeSantis. "Through HB 395 and the funding announced today, we are guaranteeing that the history of those who fled communist regimes and their experiences are preserved and not forgotten by our students. While it’s fashionable in some circles to whitewash the history of communism, Florida will stand for truth and remain as a beachhead for freedom.“

DeSantis made the announcement during an event promoting the allocation of $25 million in funding for renovations to Miami’s Freedom Tower. Built in 1925, the building served as a Cuban Assistance Center for those who fled the country when it fell under socialist rule after the Cuban Revolution.

Student instruction will include subjects such as "Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge, and Nicol‡s Maduro and the Chavismo movement," highlighting the suffering people went through under those governments.

DeSantis claimed that the legislation is a response to the glorification of far-left ideologies being celebrated by parts of the Democratic Party and in academia.

"There are probably more Marxists on college faculties in the United States than there are in all of Eastern Europe combined," DeSantis said during the Monday news conference. "(Eastern Europeans) don’t want to go back to communism."