Students in Florida will soon have roughly one lesson’s worth of mandated instruction time dedicated to the “victims of communism” as the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, works to make a name for himself as a leader in achieving GOP priorities at the state level.
Mr DeSantis on Monday signed a bill into law mandating 45 minutes of classtime instruction on “Victims of Communism Day”, which in the same bill he established in the state as occurring on 7 November.
The legislation is a rare direct step by a state legislature to mandate specific instruction of a topic in public schools. A number of other states recognise “Victims of Communism Day”, but none have moved to change public school curriculums around the issue.
“Honoring the people that have fallen victim to communist regimes and teaching our students about those atrocities is the best way to ensure that history does not repeat itself,” the governor said in a statement.
He added: “[W}e are guaranteeing that the history of those who fled communist regimes and their experiences are preserved and not forgotten by our students. While it’s fashionable in some circles to whitewash the history of communism, Florida will stand for truth and remain as a beachhead for freedom.”
Mr DeSantis is a rising star in the Republican Party and one of its youngest prominent leaders on the national stage at just 43. The Florida governor is running for reelection this year, and is favoured to win according to most polling.
Whether he will serve a second full term is in question, however, as many experts believe the ambitious Jackonville-born Mr DeSantis is plotting a bid for the presidency in 2024, even potentially if Florida transplant Donald Trump enters the GOP primary as well.
Mr DeSantis spoke about the bill in front of Miami’s Freedom Tower, an art exhibit previously used to process Cuban refugees, on Monday and took aim at Cuba’s Fidel Castro as well as other communist figures.
“That body count of Mao is something that everybody needs to understand because it is a direct result of this communist ideology,” said the governor, according to the Miami Herald. “I know we don’t need legislation here to do this but I think it’s our responsibility to make sure people know about the atrocities committed by people like Fidel Castro and even more recently people like Nicolas Maduro.”
His state continues to be the site of controversy over the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a piece of legislation that prohibits some teachers from bringing up any LGBT-related topics, including potentially parts of their own lives, in class.
