How Museums in Central and Eastern Europe Tell the Complicated Story of Life Behind the Iron Curtain
Apr 24
Florida Governor DeSantis Signs Victims of Communism Education Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C.— On June 22, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill requiring that all Florida schools teach their students about the crimes of communist regimes. The legislation, which was championed by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) and passed in the Florida House of Representatives on April 2 and in the Florida Senate on April 27, requires schools to include in their curriculum a comparative discussion of the political ideologies of communism and totalitarianism with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States.
During the signing ceremony, Governor DeSantis noted the importance of having students graduate high school with a strong foundation and understanding of the evils of communism and totalitarian ideologies that have been responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people in the past century.
“We have a number of people in Florida — particularly Southern Florida — who have escaped totalitarian regimes, who have escaped communist dictatorships, to be able to come to America. We want all students to understand the difference…Why would somebody flee across shark infested waters, say leaving from Cuba, to come to southern Florida? Why would people leave a place like Vietnam? Why would people leave these countries and risk their life to be able to come here. It’s important that students understand that.” —Governor Ron DeSantis
VOC President and CEO Ambassador Andrew Bremberg spoke at the signing ceremony about the importance of the historic passage of House Bill 5 in Florida. He also highlighted the availability of VOC’s extensive educational resources for all US state school systems, including our curricular supplement for middle and high schoolers and our Witness Project series.
“We are so thrilled at the historic passage of House Bill 5, which is the first educational reform bill of any state in the United States that takes on this critical issue ensuring that young Americans learn about the history of communism, and learn and understand in a comparative government setting the benefits of the American political system and the crimes committed by communist regimes and totalitarian regimes around the world.” —Ambassador Andrew Bremberg
While Florida has become the first state to pass legislation requiring K-12 students be taught the dangers and evils of communism as part of their civics education, VOC is also working to encourage all other states across the country to follow suit by passing similar legislation.
In addition to fostering the truthful education of communism for students, VOC is equipping hundreds of middle and high school public, private, charter, and homeschool teachers across the country with our in-depth curricular supplement. The third edition of this free curricular resource was recently released and can be downloaded here.
For information about VOC’s other educational programs, visit victimsofcommunism.org.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is an educational, research, and human rights bipartisan nonprofit devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million victims of communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of the more than 1.5 billion people still living under communist regimes.
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