Senate Bill 1264 (2024) — History of Communism Task Force
SB 1264
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2024 SB By Senator Collins 14-01141-24 20241264__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled
An act relating to the History of Communism Task Force; amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; requiring instruction in public schools on the history of communism; requiring each school district to annually certify to the department that it provided instruction on the subject; creating s. 1003.441, F.S.; creating the History of Communism Task Force within the Department of Education; requiring the task force to work with the Division of Historical Resources within the Department of State to make recommendations by a specified date to the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education for curriculum standards and instruction on communist history; providing requirements for the recommendations; requiring the board to develop a curriculum based on the recommendations; authorizing the task force to recommend to the Legislature the creation of a museum of communist history; providing an effective date. 19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
Section 1. Paragraph
(
v) is added to subsection (2) of
Section
Section 1003.441, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 47 1003.441 History of Communism Task Force.— 48
(1) There is created within the Department of Education the History of Communism Task Force. Members of the task force shall be appointed by the Governor. 51
(2) The task force shall work with the Division of Historical Resources within the Department of State to make recommendations by July 1, 2025, to the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education for curriculum standards and instruction on the history of communism for kindergarten through grade 12. 57
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a) Such recommendations must include: 58 Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1264 14-01141-24 20241264__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 1. The history of domestic communist movements and their tactics within the United States. 60 2. The philosophy and lineages of communist thought, 61 including Marxism. 62 3. Foreign communist movements of the 20th century, the atrocities committed by such movements, and the threat they posed to the United States and its allies.
Such movements include, but are not limited to, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China, the Third Reich of Nazi Germany, other communist regimes, and the economic, industrial, and political events that preceded and contributed to the formation of such movements. 70 4. The communist socioeconomic policies of Cuba, the history of the Communist Party of Cuba, and the spread of communism and communist guerrilla forces in Latin America. 73
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b) Such instruction must inform students that communism poses a threat to freedom. 75
(3) The board shall develop a curriculum on the history of communism based on the recommendations of the task force. 77
(4) The task force may recommend to the Legislature the creation of a museum of communist history. 79