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S. 634Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Crucial Communism Teaching Act

Sponsored by John KennedySen. John Kennedy (R-LA)
Introduced March 2, 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 4:18 AM UTC

The Crucial Communism Teaching Act directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to create a civic‑education curriculum and accompanying oral‑history resources for high‑school students. It aims to help families, schools, and education agencies teach students about communism and similar totalitarian ideologies, emphasizing their historical harms. The bill primarily affects high‑school students, teachers, and state and local education officials.

Key Provisions

  • The foundation must develop a high‑school curriculum that compares communism and totalitarianism with U.S. democratic principles and can be used in social‑studies, government, history, or economics classes.
  • It must produce oral‑history materials called “Portraits in Patriotism,” featuring personal stories from individuals who suffered under the targeted ideologies and who demonstrate civic‑minded qualities.
  • The foundation must work with state and local education leaders to help schools adopt and use the curriculum and oral‑history resources.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 2, 2023

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 2, 2023

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 2, 2023

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued March 2, 2023

II

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 634

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 2, 2023

Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mr. Scott of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To develop and disseminate a civic education curriculum and oral history resources regarding certain political ideologies, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Crucial Communism Teaching Act.

2.

Purposes

The purposes of this Act are the following:

(1)

To help families, civic institutions, local communities, local educational agencies, high schools, and State educational agencies to prepare high school students to be civically responsible and knowledgeable adults.

(2)

To ensure that high school students in the United States—

(A)

learn that communism has led to the deaths of more than 100,000,000 victims worldwide;

(B)

understand the dangers of communism and similar political ideologies; and

(C)

understand that 1,500,000,000 people still suffer under communism.

3.

Development and dissemination of civic education curriculum and oral history resources

The independent entity created under section 905(b)(1)(B) of the FRIENDSHIP Act (Public Law 103–199; 107 Stat. 2331), also known as the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, shall—

(1)

develop a civic education curriculum for high school students that—

(A)

includes a comparative discussion of certain political ideologies, including communism and totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that are essential to the founding of the United States;

(B)

is accurate, relevant, and accessible, so as to promote the understanding of such political ideologies; and

(C)

is compatible with a variety of courses, including social studies, government, history, and economics classes;

(2)

develop oral history resources that may be used alongside the curriculum described in paragraph (1) and that include personal stories, titled Portraits in Patriotism, from diverse individuals who—

(A)

demonstrate civic-minded qualities;

(B)

are victims of the political ideologies described in paragraph (1)(A); and

(C)

are able to compare the political ideologies described in paragraph (1)(A) with the political ideology of the United States; and

(3)

engage with State and local educational leaders to assist high schools in using the curriculum described in paragraph (1) and the resources described in paragraph (2).

4.

Definitions

The terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall apply to this Act.