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Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania House Bill 795 requires public and private high schools to teach about totalitarian regimes and victims' suffering
Last action · March 3, 2025: Referred to EDUCATION, March 3, 2025Sponsors: Milou Mackenzie and 6 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, public, private, and parochial schools in Pennsylvania must include specific instruction on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes and the suffering of their victims within their social studies curriculum. The legislation explicitly mandates coverage of Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin, Pol Pot, and Nicolas Maduro. Additionally, the State Board of Education is required to promulgate consistent regulations no later than April 1, 2026.
Middle and high school students across Pennsylvania will experience changes to their required social studies curriculum regarding world history and comparative forms of government, while the State Board of Education must adopt new administrative rules by April 1, 2026.
- The Public School Code of 1949 serves as the primary statutory foundation governing public education operations, school districts, and curricula throughout Pennsylvania. context
- The State Board of Education is the state-level regulatory body responsible for developing, adopting, and overseeing academic regulations and standards for Pennsylvania schools. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
public, private, and parochial school students in grades seven through twelve
Students will receive mandatory classroom instruction on specific totalitarian regimes, historical figures, and victim suffering.
State Board of Education
The Board is required to promulgate regulations consistent with the act no later than April 1, 2026.
school superintendents and boards of school directors
Superintendents must prepare and recommend courses of study, and school boards must adopt them to comply with the updated mandates.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which schools are required to follow these new curriculum mandates?
When do schools have to start teaching the newly required topics?
What specific historical figures and movements must be included in the curriculum?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Mar 3, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to EDUCATION, March 3, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance55How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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