Victims of Communism Day

West Virginia House Bill 4583 establishes November 7 annually as "Victims of Communism Day" for public schools. It requires high school students in U.S. Government classes (mandated under §18-2-9(a)(1)) to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction about communist regimes' impacts, including specific examples like Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, Stalin's Soviet system, and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The bill mandates that curriculum content cover how victims suffered through poverty, starvation, migration, violence, and speech suppression under these regimes. The State Board of Education must adopt revised social studies standards incorporating these requirements by April 1, 2026, with implementation beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.