I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5349 

To develop and disseminate a civic education curriculum and oral history 

resources regarding certain political ideologies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 

Ms. SALAZAR (for herself, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. GIMENEZ, 

Mrs. SPARTZ, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. BOST, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. SMITH of New 

Jersey, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. 

SESSIONS, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. 

BILIRAKIS, Mrs. STEEL, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. FERGUSON, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Ms. DE LA

CRUZ, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. SMUCKER, Mr. MCCORMICK, and Mr. SELF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To develop and disseminate a civic education curriculum 

and oral history resources regarding certain political 

ideologies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crucial Communism 

5 Teaching Act’’. 


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•HR 5349 IH

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

3 (1) To help families, civic institutions, local 

4 communities, local educational agencies, high 

5 schools, and State educational agencies to prepare 

6 high school students to be civically responsible and 

7 knowledgeable adults. 

8 (2) To ensure that high school students in the 

9 United States— 

10 (A) learn that communism has led to the 

11 deaths of over 100,000,000 victims worldwide; 

12 (B) understand the dangers of communism 

13 and similar political ideologies; and 

14 (C) understand that 1,500,000,000 people 

15 still suffer under communism. 

16 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF CIVIC EDU17 CATION CURRICULUM AND ORAL HISTORY 

18 RESOURCES. 

19 The independent entity created under section 

20 905(b)(1)(B) of the FRIENDSHIP Act (40 U.S.C. 1003 

21 note; 107 Stat. 2331 note), also known as the ‘‘Victims 

22 of Communism Memorial Foundation’’, shall— 

23 (1) develop a civic education curriculum for 

24 high school students that— 

25 (A) includes a comparative discussion of 

26 certain political ideologies, including comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Sep 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5349.IH H5349

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•HR 5349 IH

1 munism and totalitarianism, that conflict with 

2 the principles of freedom and democracy that 

3 are essential to the founding of the United 

4 States; 

5 (B) is accurate, relevant, and accessible, so 

6 as to promote the understanding of such polit7 ical ideologies; and 

8 (C) is compatible with a variety of courses, 

9 including social studies, government, history, 

10 and economics classes; 

11 (2) develop oral history resources that may be 

12 used alongside the curriculum described in para13 graph (1) and that include personal stories, titled 

14 ‘‘Portraits in Patriotism’’, from diverse individuals 

15 who— 

16 (A) demonstrate civic-minded qualities; 

17 (B) are victims of the political ideologies 

18 described in paragraph (1)(A); and 

19 (C) are able to compare the political 

20 ideologies described in paragraph (1)(A) with 

21 the political ideology of the United States; and 

22 (3) engage with State and local educational 

23 leaders to assist high schools in using the curriculum 

24 described in paragraph (1) and the resources de25 scribed in paragraph (2). 


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•HR 5349 IH

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 The terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall 

4 apply to this Act. 

Æ 


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