New Florida Curriculum on Communism is a “Dangerous Recasting” of McCarthyism – PEN America
New Florida Curriculum on Communism is a “Dangerous Recasting” of McCarthyism
Education Should Champion Diverse Perspectives, Not Impose a Rigid Set of Beliefs
Educational Censorship U.S. Free Expression
November 17, 2025
(MIAMI)— PEN America today criticized Florida’s new social studies standards that established a unit on “The History of Communism” for grades 6-12, calling it a “dangerous recasting” of McCarthyism as patriotism.
PEN America Florida Director William Johnson said: “This new unit is a dangerous recasting of McCarthyism as patriotism and dissent as ‘un-American.’ Florida’s new standards impose a single, rigid set of beliefs such as criticizing communism, when education should champion the exploration of diverse perspectives. A classroom should be a place where ideas meet, not where ideology reigns.”
The Florida Department of Education, which adopted the standards last week, had said the new unit on communism was a response to a “resurgence of communist ideologies across the United States and throughout the world,” noting “it is more important than ever for students to understand the catastrophic failures and human suffering caused by communist regimes.”
Historians quoted in the Tampa Bay Times called this new standard “skewed,” “highly biased,” and reflecting a resurgence of Cold War-era propaganda.
The new social studies standards stem from state Senate Bill 1264, “History of Communism,” passed in 2024. PEN America has described bills like this one as “delineating what viewpoints must be taught in such a manner as to potentially restrict educators’ professional discretion, and impose an ideological constraint on the freedom to learn.” Given Governor DeSantis’s prior statements about the “evils of communism,” these standards are likely to chill the speech of educators and compel them to only discuss certain viewpoints.
In 2023, the state Board of Education approved African American history standards that required educators to teach that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” The standards were widely criticized as a defense of slavery.
Editor’s Note: The featured image at top by WP AI.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: New Florida Curriculum on Communism is a “Dangerous Recasting” of McCarthyism – PEN America
#communism #curriculum #dangerous #educationalCensorship #florida #mccarthyism #noRigidBeliefs #notDiverse #penAmerica #socialStudies #uSFreeExpression
petersuber
Advocate.com
IndieAuthors.Social News
DrWeb
getmisch
STOP DISINFORMATION Desinformación
Techdirt