Communism Doesn’t Work: New Florida Education Initiative to Teach Total Failure, Brutality of Communist Regimes

Implementation to Begin in 2026-2027 School Year

Florida Board of Education Approves New History of Communism Standards

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — The Florida State Board of Education has approved new History of Communism standards, a move Brevard County and state officials say will strengthen the state’s social studies curriculum and provide students with a deeper understanding of the global impact, total failure, and well-documented brutality of communist regimes, past and present.

Nowhere on the globe has Communism been successful, as totalitarian despots over the last century have been responsible for more than 100 million deaths, including 65 million in China, 30 million in the Soviet Union, 2 million in Cambodia, and 2 million in North Korea.

Closer to home in Florida, since Communist Fidel Castro took power 66 years ago, more than a million Cuban refugees escaped to South Florida by plane, boat, or leaky raft since the despot marched into Havana on New Year’s Day 1959.

Castro promptly eliminated a free press, murdered and jailed dissidents, and created a one-party state aligned with the Soviet Union.

“Communism has left a legacy of brutality, mass death, and destroyed freedoms across the globe,” said Brevard Public Schools District 4 Board Member Matt Susin.

“Florida’s new standards ensure students learn the truth about its catastrophic failures. Under Governor DeSantis’s leadership, Florida is taking a courageous stand for historical honesty and for the liberties that communist regimes have crushed wherever they’ve risen.

“As a former history teacher and current Brevard County School Board member, I will ensure that Floridians know our students learn the unvarnished truth about communism—its brutality, its failures, and its relentless assault on human freedom. They will understand how the bedrock principles of democracy and capitalism have defeated communism every time and everywhere it has shown its oppressive and evil face.”

Curriculum Will Detail How Communists Have Suppressed Individual Freedoms

The standards, developed by Florida educators and subject-matter experts, are set to take effect during the 2026-2027 school year.

According to the Department of Education, the curriculum is designed to ensure that students learn how communist ideologies have historically suppressed individual freedoms, abused power, and led to widespread suffering and genocide.

“With the resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world, it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes,” said Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas.

“Florida’s new History of Communism standards will ensure that students learn the truth about the brutal realities of life under communism and gain a deeper appreciation for the blessings of liberty that define our nation.”

State Board Member Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie praised the initiative, saying the standards will help prepare young Floridians to protect democratic values.

“By adopting the History of Communism standards, we are equipping Florida’s students with an honest and rigorous understanding of how communist regimes exploited authority to erode freedoms and inflict generational harm,” Christie said.

“The new standards will help our youth become better informed citizens prepared to safeguard our constitutional republic for future generations.”

The new standards follow legislative actions spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis, who has prioritized education about the dangers of communism.

In 2022, DeSantis signed House Bill 395, creating Victims of Communism Day to honor the more than 100 million people who died under communist rule.

The law requires schools to dedicate at least 45 minutes of instruction on the day to teaching about communist regimes and the suffering caused by their policies, including poverty, starvation, censorship, and persecution of religion.

In 2024, DeSantis expanded on that effort by signing Senate Bill 1264, which broadened the Victims of Communism mandate into a comprehensive instructional requirement covering the full historical and global impact of communism.

With the new History of Communism standards now approved, Florida officials say the state is continuing its push to lead the nation in civic education rooted in historical awareness and patriotism.

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