Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference January 26, 2023 in Miami.
Marta Lavandier/AP
hide captions
switch captions
Marta Lavandier/AP
Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference January 26, 2023 in Miami.
Marta Lavandier/AP
The college board is hitting back at top Florida officials over the state’s ban on a new AP African American Studies course is being piloted in several states.
in a long time the statement was made on saturdayThe national education nonprofit said it should quickly address complaints from the Florida Department of Education that the course is spreading ideology and lacking educational value, which the College Board calls is “slander”.
The organization also said that Florida’s public and private objections had no effect on changes the College Board made to the College Board. the final program of the coursereleased earlier this month.
“Florida is trying to win politically by retroactively taking credit for changes we ourselves have made but never proposed to us,” the College Board said in a statement.
“Despite reports that the College Board is in regular dialogue with Florida about the content of the AP African American Study, this is a false and politically motivated allegation,” the statement said. “We have had no negotiations on the content of this course with Florida or any other state, nor have we received any requests, suggestions or responses.”
NPR has reached out to the Florida Department of Education and the governor’s office for comment and will update as they respond.
The African American Studies course is the latest addition to the College Board’s Advanced Placement, or AP, program, which allows high school students to take classes for college credit.
In January, the Florida Department of Education refuse new coursewith Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, Bryan Griffin, saying it was “a vehicle for a political agenda.”
of Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. called course “awakening indoctrination disguised as education.”
DeSantis recently signed several laws restricting what can be taught in Florida schools. One such law – officially known as the “Parents’ Rights in Education” law but dubbed by critics as the “No Homosexuality” bill – prohibits classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in certain circumstances. Another law, called the Stop WOKE Act, limits How about race? can be taught.
The College Board now says it should have been stronger in the face of criticism from Florida officials sooner and that “their failure to speak out betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who had and built this remarkable field a long time ago.”
The organization has clarified that the course framework is only an outline and that some controversial topics such as Black Lives Matter are always optional in the pilot program and are not required to be taught.
The College Board reserved some of its strongest words for the Florida officials themselves, who allegedly made a “bold statement” about asking the College Board to change the curriculum but actually made no recommendations. specific proposal to the organization when there are many opportunities for many months of correspondence. .
“We made the mistake of treating the FDOE with the courtesy we always give an educational institution, but instead used this courtesy for their political agenda,” the organization said. this said. said in his statement. “After each written or verbal communication with them, as a matter of professional protocol, we politely thanked them for their feedback and contributions, even though they did not provide what.”
