The Battle Between Florida's Dept. of Education and the College Board Continues
Ron Desantis’ highly controversial Parental Rights in Education Act (known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) is, yet again, causing blurred lines. The College Board released a statement early August 3rd, just days before school starts for most Florida students, claiming the state has “effectively banned” AP Psychology from its curriculum.
The state’s original bill enforces “prohibiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” However, the bill will now be expanding to grades 4-12 as well. Florida’s Department of Education had requested the College Board make changes to the AP course curriculum under Florida’s new state legislature. The College Board refused.
“We cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness. Our policy remains unchanged. Any course that censors required course content cannot be labeled “AP” or “Advanced Placement,” and the “AP Psychology” designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts,” the College Board said in their statement. AP Psychology is still listed in Florida’s Course Code Directory for this school year, so Florida’s DOE has not officially banned the course. However, unit 6.7 of the AP Psychology course violates state law, once again putting educators and administrators in an uncomfortable gray area with little guidance as to what to do. If they continue teaching the course as required by the College Board, teachers would be violating state law and risking their jobs. If they modify the course to accommodate the legislature, they risk students' accreditation for college credit as well as failing to fully prepare their students for the AP exam.
So what does this mean for the future of Florida students and educators? More than 28,000 students in Florida took AP Psychology in the 2022-2023 school year. Another 30,000 were planning on taking the course this year, according to the College Board. Taking away this course may severely derail students' academic plans as well as financial plans–AP courses can save students a lot of money by allowing a passing test score to be used as college credit. This also will affect the thousands of teachers who administer the AP psychology course, limiting their work hours and wages. Teachers are eligible for a bonus for every student that receives a passing score on their AP exam. Some teachers strictly teach AP Psychology, meaning they could very well be without a job.
Ron Desantis proposed this legislation as a way to give parents control over their child’s education, which seems ironic considering none of these decisions were put to a public vote and is just taking away more and more options for Florida students. Students enrolled in AP courses are in 11th and 12th grade; they are no longer children. At ages 16-18, sexual orientation and gender identity are no secret to these students. You can’t expect upperclassmen high schoolers to act like adults and treat them like children. These are the same groups of students who are getting ready to make a decision about the rest of their lives, and somehow examining how sexual orientation and gender affect people socially is not “age appropriate.” If, in fact, the Florida DOE does declare that AP psychology will be officially banned from Florida public schools, what precedent will that set for higher education standards? Will all Psychology studies become illegal under the eyes of state law? Desantis has already cut funding and eliminated gender, sexuality, and race studies as well as diversity programs within Florida’s public higher education system. He also barred Florida schools from participating in the pilot program of the new African American Studies course offered by the College Board, stating it was “contrary to state law.” Where will the line be drawn?
Censorship is defined as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” If you ask me, Desantis and the Florida DOE are doing just that. Eliminating entire education programs and prohibiting students (actually, grown adults who are paying for their own education) from studying material deemed “inappropriate” is censorship. While the FDOE cannot limit these topics in private education systems, they are limiting education efforts in public schools that many Florida residents use. Limitation is censorship. In an attempt to give parents some control over their child's education, the Desantis administration and the FDOE have swung too far in the opposite direction, and they must be checked before it goes any further.
Strike out,
Haley Dockendorff
Boca Raton
Haley Dockendorff is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. Loud and proud, this Virgo loves writing just about anything that will cause a bit of commotion. If you can’t find her, she’s probably somewhere on a beach with a camera in hand.
