The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee on Education; Education Pre-K -12 Committee; and Senator
Collins and others
SUBJECT: History of Communism
DATE: February 26, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Sabitsch Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Gray Elwell AED Fav/CS
3. Sabitsch Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 1264 requires instruction on the history of communism and makes provision for
activities related to political and economic freedom. Additionally, the bill:
 Requires specified instruction on the history of communism beginning in the 2026-2027
school year that must be age and developmentally appropriate.
 Requires the Department of Education (DOE) to prepare and offer standards for the
instruction on the history of communism.
 Removes the History of Communism Task Force established in the bill.
 Establishes the Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College and requires
the institute to partner with the renamed Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom to
provide academic coursework and programs.
 Requires the Department of State and the DOE to recommend to the legislature on the
creation of a museum of communist history.
The bill has an indeterminate fiscal impact on state expenditures. See Section V., Fiscal Impact
Statement.
The bill is effective July 1, 2024.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Communism
Communism is a political and economic philosophy that aims to replace private property and a
profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of the major means of
production and society’s natural resources. Karl Marx and his associate, Friedrich Engels,
blamed capitalism for the unfavorable and often-hazardous conditions of workers during the
Industrial Revolution. They presented this critique of capitalism in 1848 in their widely
circulated pamphlet, Manifesto of the Communist Party.1
One facet of the communist theory is that the proletariat (one of the lowest classes of society
which lives entirely by the sale of its labor) would capture political power, abolish private
property ownership, and take the private property of the bourgeoisie. Communism postulates that
the taking and abolishment of private property by the proletariat would result in shared
ownership of the means of production, ushering the world into a communal economic and
societal utopia with equality for all.2
Before the full establishment of communism, however, the communist theory suggests that a
transitional dictatorship of the proletariat may be necessary.3
Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolshevik Revolution, also known as the October Revolution, was the second of two
revolutions in Russia in 1917. The Bolshevik Revolution was a revolution led by Vladimir Lenin
in Russia against the ruling Russian Parliament that had replaced the ruling Tsar in the same
year. The coup began in November of 1917, when the Bolsheviks led forces into Petrograd, then
the capital of Russia. The Bolsheviks occupied government buildings and other locations across
Petrograd. The coup led to the Russian Civil War and eventually the creation of the Soviet
Union. The event inspired and ignited communist movements around the world. 4 However,
instead of the expected dictatorship of the majority class of proletarians, the revolution resulted
in a political party that claimed to represent proletarian interests.5
Required Instruction
The mission of Florida’s K-20 education system is to allow its students to increase their
proficiency by allowing them the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills through
rigorous and relevant learning opportunities.6 Each district school board must provide
1
Encyclopedia Britannica, Communism, https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism (last visited Feb. 13, 2024).
2
Engels, Friedrich, Principles of Communism, No. 14 – (1847), available at
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm (last visited Feb. 1, 2024).
3
Encyclopedia Britannica, Dictatorship of the Proletariat, https://www.britannica.com/topic/dictatorship-of-the-proletariat
(last visited Feb. 1, 2021).
4
History, The Russian Revolution, available at https://www.history.com/topics/russia/russian-revolution (last visited Feb 13,
2024).
5
Encyclopedia Britannica, Dictatorship of the Proletariat, https://www.britannica.com/topic/dictatorship-of-the-proletariat
(last visited Feb 13, 2024).
6
Section 1000.03(4), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264 Page 3
appropriate instruction to ensure that students meet State Board of Education (SBE) adopted
standards in the following subject areas: reading and other language arts, mathematics, science,
social studies, foreign languages, health and physical education, and the arts.7
Instructional staff of public schools,8 subject to the rules of the SBE and the district school board,
must shall teach efficiently and faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the
highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy, following the prescribed courses of
study, and employing approved methods of instruction, the following:
 The history and content of the Declaration of Independence.
 The history, meaning, significance, and effect of the provisions of the Constitution of the
United States.
 The arguments in support of adopting our republican form of government.
 Flag education, including proper flag display and flag salute.
 The elements of civil government.
 The history of the United States.
 The history of the Holocaust.
 The history of African Americans.
 The elementary principles of agriculture.
 The effects of alcoholic and intoxicating liquors and beverages and narcotics.
 Kindness to animals.
 The history of the state.
 The conservation of natural resources.
 Comprehensive health education.
 The study of Hispanic contributions to the United States.
 The study of women’s contributions to the United States.
 The nature and importance of free enterprise to the United States economy.
 A character-development program in kindergarten through grade 12.
 The sacrifices that veterans and Medal of Honor recipients have made serving the country.9
Between 196110 and 1991,11 Florida required the teaching of a 30-hour course of study for all
students enrolled in public high schools entitled “Americanism vs. Communism.” The
instruction included the history, doctrines, objectives and techniques of communism with
particular emphasis upon the dangers of communism, the ways to fight communism, the evils of
communism, the fallacies of communism, and the false doctrines of communism.12
Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, high school students enrolled in the United States
Government class required to earn a standard high school diploma13 must receive at least 45
minutes of instruction on “Victims of Communism Day” to include topics such as Mao Zedong
and the Cultural Revolution, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban
7
Section 1003.42(1), F.S.
8
Instructional staff of charter schools are exempt from this section of law. Section 1002.33(16), F.S.
9
Section 1003.42(2), F.S.
10
Chapter 61-77, Laws of Fla.
11
Chapter 91-105, s. 81, Laws of Fla.
12
Chapter 61-77, Laws of Fla.
13
Section 1003.4282(3), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264 Page 4
Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and
Nicolás Maduro and the Chavismo movement, and how victims suffered under these regimes
through poverty, starvation, migration, systemic lethal violence, and suppression of speech.14
The SBE is required to adopt and periodically review and revise the state academic standards.15
Such standards must provide for the logical, sequential progression of core curricular content.16
The SBE has approved three standards related to communism, in grades 9-12 social studies, and
in grade 7 civics and government.17
Victims of Communism
In addition to violations of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, loss of property rights, and
the criminalization of ordinary economic activity, communist regimes in the 20th century
intentionally killed their own citizens.18 One researcher compiled data from 1900 to 1987 related
to state-sanctioned killings to provide a metric to consider when reflecting on the victims of
communism and concluded that the Soviet Union was responsible for the deaths of over
61 million people. “Stalin himself is responsible for almost 43 million of these. Most of the
deaths, around 39 million, are due to lethal forced labor in gulag and transit thereto.” Communist
China (1923-1949) was responsible for about 3.5 million deaths, and the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) (1949-present) was responsible for an additional 35.2 million deaths.19
In Cambodia, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge likely killed about 2 million Cambodians from April
1975 through December 1978, out of a population of around 7 million.20
In summary, from 1900 to 1987, communist dictators and regimes were responsible for the death
of approximately 110 million individuals.21 In 1993, Congress made similar findings and
authorized a national memorial to honor victims of communism. In addition to death, Congress
found that “the imperialist regimes of international communism have brutally suppressed the
human rights, national independence, religious liberty, intellectual freedom, and cultured life of
the peoples of over 40 captive nations.” The purpose of the memorial is to permanently honor the
sacrifices of these victims “so that never again will nations and peoples allow so evil a tyranny to
terrorize the world.” 22
14
Section 683.334(3), F.S.
15
Section 1001.03(1), F.S.
16
Section 1003.41(1), F.S.
17
The standards are: SS.912.W.6.3, Compare the philosophies of capitalism, socialism, and communism as described by
Adam Smith, Robert Owen, and Karl Marx; SS.912.W.8.5, Identify the factors that led to the decline and fall of communism
in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe; and SS.7.CG.3.15, Analyze the advantages of capitalism and the free market in the
United States over government-controlled economic systems (e.g., socialism and communism) in regard to economic
freedom and raising the standard of living for citizens. CPALMS, Browse and Search Standards, “communism”
https://www.cpalms.org/public/search/Standard (last visited Feb. 14, 2024).
18
Ilya Somin, Lessons from a Century of Communism, Wash. Post, Nov. 7, 2017, available at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/11/07/lessons-from-a-century-of-communism/ (last
visited Feb 14 2024).
19
Rummel, R.J., How Many Did Communist Regimes Murder? (Nov. 1993) available at:
https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM (last visited Feb 14, 2024).
20
Id.
21
Id.
22
Pub. L. No. 103-199, s. 905 (Dec. 17, 1993).
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264 Page 5
Victims of Communism Day
The first national day recognizing victims of communism was November 7, 2017. Currently,
eight states have officially recognized November 7 as “Victims of Communism Memorial Day,”
and seven other states currently have legislation filed to follow suit.23 In 2022, Florida officially
recognized Victims of Communism Day and to be publicly observed in honor of the 100 million
people who have fallen victim to communist regimes.24
The Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic Freedom
The Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic Freedom (center) was created in 202025 at
Florida International University to:
 Study the effect of government and free market economies on individual freedom and human
prosperity.
 Conduct and promote research on the effect of political and economic systems on human
prosperity.
 Plan and host research workshops and conferences to allow students, scholars, and guests to
exchange in civil discussion of democracy and capitalism.
 Provide fellowship and mentoring opportunities to students engaged in scholarly studies of
the effect of political and economic systems on human prosperity.26
In 2023,27 the center was further authorized to:
 Hire necessary faculty and staff.
 Enroll students.
 Develop curriculum and offer new courses, including honors courses, certificates, and major
and minor programs.
 Hold events, including fundraisers.
 Fulfill other actions approved by the president of the university.
 Generate resources based on student credit hour enrollment, in the same manner as any
college within the institution.28
Florida College System Direct Support Organizations
A Florida College System (FCS) institution direct-support organization (DSO) is a Florida
corporation not for profit, incorporated under the provisions of chapter 617 and approved by the
Department of State. The DSOs are organized and operated exclusively to receive, hold, invest,
and administer property and to make expenditures to, or for the benefit of, an FCS institution.
Each DSO must be reviewed and certified by the FCS institution’s board of trustees to ensure
23
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, Victims of Communism Memorial Day, available at:
https://victimsofcommunism.org/programs/voc-day/ (last visited Feb. 14, 2024).
24
Section 683.344, F.S.
25
Chapter 2020-117, s. 8, Laws of Fla.
26
Section 1004.64991, F.S.
27
Chapter 2023-82, s. 8, Laws of Fla.
28
Section 1004.64991(3), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1264 Page 6
that the DSO is being operated in a manner consistent with the goals of the college and in the
best interest of the state.29
The chair of the FCS institution board of trustees must appoint a representative to the DSO board
of directors and the executive committee. The president of the FCS institution for which the DSO
is established, or the president’s designee, must also serve on the board of directors and the
executive committee of the DSO.30
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill modifies s. 1003.42, F.S., to add to required instruction in public schools the history of
communism. The bill requires that the instruction be age and developmentally appropriate and
include the following:
 The history of communism in the United States and domestic communist movements.
 Atrocities committed in foreign countries under the guidance of communism.
 Comparative discussion of political ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism.
 The increasing threat of communism in the United States and to its allies.
 The economic, industrial, and political events that have preceded and anticipated communist
revolutions.
 The communist policies of Cuba, and the spread of communist ideologies throughout Latin
America.
The bill requires that the Department of Education (DOE) prepare and offer standards that for the
required instruction and allows the DOE to seek input for any individual of communism or any
state or nationally recognized organization dedicated to the victims of communism.
The bill requires the Department of State, in collaboration with the DOE, to consult with state
and national stakeholders to provide a recommendation on the creation of a museum on the
history of communism. This recommendation must be made to the legislature no later than
December 1, 2024.
The bill creates s. 1004.89, F.S., to establish the Institute for Freedom in the Americas (institute)
within Miami Dade College at the Freedom Tower to preserve the ideals of a free society and
promote democracy. The institute is required to do the following:
 Partner with the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom to hold workshops,