U.S. Department of Education Calls on Schools to Strengthen Education on the History and Dangers of Communism and Socialism

In observance of the 10th U.S. National Day for the Victims of Communism on November 7, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon today issued a Dear Colleague Letter to education leaders and teachers across the country, calling on schools to strengthen instruction on the history and human toll of communism and socialism, and to ensure students understand the principles of liberty underlying America's constitutional system.

The guidance comes as the nation prepares to remember the more than 100 million people who lost their lives under communist regimes. Secretary McMahon's letter reminds educators about the important role they play teaching students about the tragic historical consequences of collectivization, centralized economic planning, political coercion, and suppression of dissent. Murder on an industrial scale-including the Ukrainian Holodomor, China's Great Leap Forward, Cambodia's Killing Fields, and the Soviet gulags-has inevitably grown out of socialism's false promises.

"At a time when young Americans are expressing positive impressions of socialism in record numbers, it is more important than ever for students to learn and understand the devastating human consequences of communist and socialist regimes," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "We must ensure the next generation values freedom, individual liberty, and the constitutional principles that have made America the greatest nation in the world - otherwise, we risk repeating the tragedies of the past."

Secretary McMahon's letter also recognized states that have taken steps to incorporate instruction on communism and its history into their schools, including:

• Arkansas and Arizona, which require instruction addressing the history and dangers of communism and totalitarianism alongside America's founding principles of freedom and liberty;

• Florida, which requires age- and developmentally appropriate instruction on the history of communism and annual Victims of Communism Day instruction in observance of November 7;

• Tennessee, which incorporates Victims of Communism Day and instruction on the history and perils of communism into its educational standards; and

• Texas, which includes instruction on communist regimes, their tactics and atrocities, and survivor accounts in its social studies standards.

The Department of Education does not endorse or mandate particular curricula. The guidance spotlights best practices and highlights state efforts to recognize November 7 as the National Day for the Victims of Communism. It has never been more important to encourage educators nationwide to provide students with the historical context necessary to compare communist and socialist systems with the principles and institutions established by America's Founders.

Read the full letter from Secretary McMahon here.