Florida's Controversial New Teaching Standards Draw Criticism
Florida has ignited a fierce debate over historical interpretation after approving new social studies standards that critics argue rehabilitate aspects of McCarthyism and the anti-communist Red Scare. The Florida Board of Education approved the controversial benchmarks on Thursday 14 November 2025 for middle and high school students.
Daughter of Blacklisted Screenwriter Speaks Out
Mitzi Trumbo, daughter of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who was imprisoned and blacklisted during the Red Scare, strongly condemned the new standards. In an email to The Associated Press sent from her northern California home, she described them as "appalling" and warned that "history should never be rewritten to match the politics of the day."
The new standards include instruction on how "McCarthyism" is used as an insult and how terms like "red-baiter" and "Red Scare" constitute slander against anti-communists. This represents a significant shift from decades of historical criticism directed at former U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose campaign against alleged communist influence in government, the Civil Rights Movement and artistic communities during the late 1940s and early 1950s is widely regarded as a shameful chapter in American history.
The Human Cost of the Red Scare
The Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union during the late 1940s fuelled widespread fears of communist infiltration into American institutions, including the film industry and government. Many targets of McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee faced professional blacklisting for a decade or more.
Dalton Trumbo, once Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriter and a member of the Communist Party who supported unions, equal pay and civil rights, was among those called before the committee in 1947. When he and nine other film industry figures refused to answer questions about their communist affiliations, they were found in contempt. Trumbo served eleven months in federal prison and was blacklisted from Hollywood.
During his blacklisting, Trumbo wrote screenplays under pseudonyms or through front writers, including classics like "Roman Holiday" and "The Brave One" which won Academy Awards. He only received public credit for his work on "Exodus" and "Spartacus" in 1960. His daughter Mitzi recalled the "difficult and painful experiences" her family endured during the 1950s due to her father's imprisonment and blacklisting.
Other prominent figures blacklisted during this period included actress Lee Grant, singer and actress Lena Horne, and actor-director Charlie Chaplin.
Political Context and Educational Implications
The new teaching standards were prompted by a 2024 law signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis requiring instruction on "the consequences of communism" to prepare students against perceived indoctrination in higher education. Layla Collins, a member of the state board of education, defended the move during Thursday's standards meeting, stating "It is our responsibility to make sure future generations can thrive and they learn how to think, not what to think."
This development follows the Republican-controlled legislature's designation of November 7 as Victims of Communism Day in Florida's public schools, mandating at least 45 minutes of instruction on figures including Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro.
Under the new standards, Florida teachers will instruct students about efforts by "anti-communist politicians" such as McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee, President Harry Truman and President Richard Nixon. Teachers are also directed to identify "propaganda and defamation" used to delegitimise anti-communists.
Mitzi Trumbo expressed relief that people are speaking out about the actual history of the period, noting the importance of explaining "how careers and lives were destroyed by HUAC and McCarthyism, and how dangerous such political repression is to our freedom of speech and to democracy itself."
