The following is from the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (pages 31-35 in print version), authored by Bob Avakian. 

F. Education.

1. Education in the New Socialist Republic in North America shall be based in accordance with, and contribute to, the principles and objectives set forth in this Constitution. All education shall be public education, provided for financially through the allocation of funds from the central government and other levels of government, under the overall direction of the Executive Council of the central government.

Education providing not only for literacy and other basic skills and abilities but also for a grounding in the natural and social sciences, as well as art and culture and other spheres, and in the ability to work with ideas in general, shall be provided, at government expense, and shall be compulsory for all youth (both citizens and residents) within the New Socialist Republic in North America, in accordance with policy and guidelines that shall be adopted by the appropriate government bodies for this purpose. Advanced education, combining specialization with the continuance of overall, well-rounded learning, shall also be provided at government expense for those who meet the criteria and standards for this more advanced education, as set forth in policy and guidelines developed by the appropriate government bodies, in accordance with the principles and objectives embodied in this Constitution. And, on the basis of and in tempo with the development of the socialist economy and society overall, it shall be the orientation of the state to provide such advanced education to increasing numbers of the adult population. In furtherance of these ends, museums relating to history, natural history and science, art, and other spheres, as well as other institutions and programs, shall be developed in accordance with the basic principles and objectives set forth here, and shall be made available widely to the population as a whole.

Education, while valuing and giving expression to the circumstances and atmosphere that are favorable and conducive to learning and intellectual pursuit, shall avoid and combat an “ivory tower” environment and mentality and, on the contrary, shall promote interchanges between students and the broader ranks of the people, on the basis of and in keeping with the principles and policies of the educational system. At the same time, education at all levels shall combine intellectual pursuits with various kinds of physical labor, in ways and forms that correspond to and are appropriate for students of different ages and different levels of development, in order to foster the development of new generations of people with well-rounded experience, knowledge and abilities, and as part of working to transform the relation between intellectual and physical work so that this no longer constitutes the basis for social antagonism.

Overcoming, in society (and ultimately the world) as a whole, such antagonism relating to the division between mental and physical work, which is deeply rooted in the development of societies marked by oppressive and exploitative relations and which is itself a potential source of such relations, shall be a concern of the state overall, and attention shall be paid to this in all spheres of society.

2. One of the most important purposes of the educational system in the New Socialist Republic in North America is to enable students (and the people broadly) to learn deeply about the reality of, and the basis for, the oppression of whole peoples, and the domination and oppression of women, in the former imperialist USA and throughout the world where societies have been founded on exploitation and ruled by exploiting classes–and, on this basis, to become deeply dedicated to and actively involved in the fight to uproot and eliminate all such relations of inequality and oppression. This shall also be the approach with regard to discrimination against and oppression of people based on sexual orientation, which is closely bound up with traditional gender roles and the oppression of women.

3. As an expression of the multi-national, multi-lingual character of the New Socialist Republic in North America, of the history and current composition of the population of this Republic, and of its internationalist orientation and its goal of overcoming and abolishing all inequality between nationalities and cultures, all education shall be conducted in Spanish and English equally, as a matter of government policy. (And, as indicated in Section 1 of this Article, all laws and other official documents of the government shall be published in both languages.) In any areas where significant sections of the population have another language as their first language, efforts and resources shall be devoted to providing education in that language as well. Along with this, it shall be the goal of the state to encourage and assist people in society as a whole to become fluent in both English and Spanish and, as far as possible, to acquaint themselves with other languages, particularly those spoken by significant groups within the population of this Republic, as well as languages spoken by significant numbers of people in other parts of the world.

4. The educational system in the New Socialist Republic in North America must enable people to pursue the truth wherever it leads, with a spirit of critical thinking and scientific curiosity, and in this way to continually learn about the world and be better able to contribute to changing it in accordance with the fundamental interests of humanity. To this end, in the study of human society and its historical development, and in the social as well as the natural sciences in general, the pursuit of the truth, through the accumulation of facts and empirical evidence and the synthesis of this through logical reasoning and rational discourse, including the testing of ideas against reality, shall be the objective and standard. Scientific and other theories which have met these criteria and have been clearly confirmed and validated through the scientific method (such as evolution, which is one of the most soundly confirmed and well established facts in all of science) shall be presented as what they are–true and valid understanding of reality–and shall serve as a foundation from which to proceed in further learning about and changing the world, while at the same time the ongoing application of the scientific method shall be fostered and supported in order to continue learning more about the dynamics of processes such as evolution and the natural-material world in general. The dialectical materialist understanding that all of reality consists of matter in motion, of various kinds, and nothing else, and the application of this understanding and approach to all spheres of natural and social science shall be the foundation and “solid core” of education. At the same time, as an application of “elasticity on the basis of a solid core,” there shall be provision for other, opposing viewpoints to be presented, including by ardent advocates of those viewpoints, as a part of the overall curriculum and general education. In this regard, too, the orientation of pursuing the truth and the determination of whether something does or does not correspond to objective reality as the standard and criterion of truth, should be applied, while at the same time encouraging an atmosphere in which new and unconventional ideas are not suffocated or suppressed but instead are seriously engaged, with a recognition of the fact that it has been the case throughout history, and will remain the case in the future, that truth is often “in the hands of a minority” and that this applies in particular to newly discovered understanding of reality.

Education in the realm of art and culture in particular, but also as a matter of overall orientation and approach with regard to education in general, should foster an atmosphere that promotes and stimulates imagination, creativity and a wide diversity of artistic and other creations, and a healthy wrangling over ideas and viewpoints. While there must be a definite foundation and “solid core” in the educational system, as discussed above; and while the Revolutionary Communist Party will actively and vigorously promote its viewpoint and program throughout society; there should at the same time be available not only to students but to the broader population a rich storehouse of political and philosophical, scientific, historical, artistic and other works, expressing and reflecting a diversity of viewpoints. This is an important, indeed indispensable part of enabling students, and the people broadly, to be stimulated, sustained and enriched intellectually and culturally and to pursue the truth wherever it leads with a spirit of critical thinking and scientific curiosity, and in this way to continually learn about the world and be better able to contribute to changing it in accordance with the fundamental interests of humanity.