Texas Passes Law Mandating Education on Communism 

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is honored to announce that Texas is joining a growing number of states that require students to learn about the dangers of communism.   
 
Signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, this landmark, bipartisan initiative is expected to take effect in the 2026-2027 academic year. Texas, which educates nearly 11% of U.S. students, will focus on the history and crimes of communism, modern-day threats from communist regimes, and first-person accounts from the victims.  

“This legislation is a turning point for education in Texas,” said Dr. Eric Patterson, President and CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. “Texas has enshrined that future generations will hear the voices of those who lived through communism’s darkest chapters, and understand that while the ideology promises ‘peace, land, and bread,’ it only brings oppression, fear, and death.” 

“Texas is setting the educational standard for the rest of the United States,” continued Dr. Patterson, “By grounding its curriculum in the experiences of survivors, the state is not just teaching history, but ensuring that students learn the truth about communism—and VOC is honored to help with this historic effort through our world-class curricular programming for both teachers and students of all ages.” 

The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation offers a range of educational materials for elementary, middle, and high school students. VOC’s foundational curriculum, Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, and Its Legacy, now in its fourth edition, is the gold standard for anticommunist education. Our three student workbooks, Ten Great Speeches Against Communism, Learning Liberty Through Freedom Movements, and Communism and Its Crimes, offer vital context through engaging in-classroom and take-home assignments. Online, VOC’s award-winning Witness Project documentary series tells powerful stories from the courageous survivors of communist regimes. VOC’s online curriculum, Communism: A History of Repression, Violence, and Victims, offers in-depth analysis and discussion for advanced audiences.  

For educators, VOC’s teacher seminars explore the most effective ways to utilize our curricular resources in the classroom. We also offer an on-demand online teacher certification course, and cutting-edge research from our China and Latin America study centers.  
 
These print and digital initiatives come to life at the Victims of Communism Museum, just two blocks away from the White House in our nation’s capital.  
 
As Texas prepares to implement these new educational standards, VOC is honored to be the central educational resource for the study of the deadliest ideology known to man. Through your support, we can continue to reach millions of students in classrooms across the world.