Crucial Communism Teaching Act
The Crucial Communism Teaching Act would direct the federal government to develop and widely disseminate a high school civic education curriculum and a set of oral-history resources focused on communism and related totalitarian ideologies. The curriculum would be created by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (the independent entity referenced in the FRIENDSHIP Act) and would include a comparative discussion of ideologies that conflict with freedom and democracy. It would also include oral-history materials titled “Portraits in Patriotism” featuring diverse individuals who have been affected by these ideologies and who can compare them to the U.S. political system. The Act envisions collaboration with state and local educational leaders to help schools implement the curriculum and resources. The bill frames its goals around preparing students to be civically responsible and knowledgeable, and it includes asserted historical claims about the harms attributed to communism.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOCMF) as the lead independent entity to develop a civic education curriculum and related oral-history resources for high school students.
- 2Requires the curriculum to include a comparative discussion of communism and totalitarianism, be accurate and accessible, and fit across various social studies, government, history, and economics courses.
- 3Creates oral-history resources, including “Portraits in Patriotism,” featuring diverse individuals who were victims of the ideologies discussed and who can compare those ideologies to the U.S. system.
- 4Mandates engagement with state and local educational leaders to support adoption and use of the curriculum and resources in high schools.
- 5Uses definitions from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (as applied by the bill) to interpret relevant terms.