Florida Approves New Curriculum Recasting McCarthyism and the Cold War — What Parents and Teachers Should Know

Overview

Florida's State Board of Education has approved comprehensive new social studies standards that reshape how McCarthyism, the Red Scare and the broader Cold War era will be taught in public schools. The 29-page "History of Communism" standards, required by a 2024 state law, emphasize anti-communist rhetoric and include instruction on figures like Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro. Implementation is scheduled for the 2026–2027 school year.

How the standards frame McCarthyism

The new benchmarks present Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee more as defenders of anti-communism than as architects of a repressive domestic campaign. The standards describe a supposed communist “infiltration” of civil rights organizations, instruct teachers to present uses of the word “McCarthyism” as an insult, and reference criticisms of anti-communists such as terms like “red-baiter” and “Red Scare.”

“McCarthyism was, up until the current moment, the longest lasting and most widespread episode of political repression within the United States,”

What the standards include and omit

Topics span from Plato’s Republic and utopian movements to the Russian Revolution and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The curriculum also requires material on Communist leaders and instructs districts to observe Victims of Communism Day (Nov. 7) with at least 45 minutes of instruction on leaders such as Mao and Castro.

Critics say the standards downplay the severe social and civil-liberty consequences of the Red Scare — including blacklists, loyalty tests, mass firings and widespread reputational damage — and present a narrower, more favorable view of anti-communist actions than many historians consider warranted.

Origins, politics and leadership

The standards stem from legislation signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024 directing the State Board to adopt a "History of Communism" curriculum. The state's new education commissioner, Anastios Kamoutsas — the grandson of Cuban exiles who fled Fidel Castro’s regime — will oversee implementation. Observers note Miami's large Cuban diaspora and its anti-communist politics have had an outsized influence on state education debates.

Responses from educators and officials

Members of the State Board of Education, who are appointees of Gov. DeSantis, praised the standards as historically grounded and necessary; most public commenters at the board meeting supported the changes. But historians and educators have raised alarm. Tawny Paul, a public history professor at UCLA, said teachers may feel constrained and afraid to explore difficult topics. Ellen Schrecker described the approach as "a very narrow and repressive view of American history" that minimizes moments of social and political change.

Related controversies and political context

This curriculum change follows earlier contested revisions to Florida's Black history standards in 2023 — including language about enslaved people "developing skills" that could be used for personal benefit — which drew widespread criticism. Rep. Byron Donalds, who opposed those Black history revisions, has since launched a campaign to succeed Gov. DeSantis and is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

What to watch

With Board approval, textbook publishers and districts will align materials to the new standards ahead of the 2026–2027 rollout. Key questions remain: how publishers will revise textbooks, how teachers will interpret and deliver the lessons, and whether the standards will spark further legal, political or classroom battles over historical framing and academic freedom.

By Kate Payne, The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported topics.