High school students in Florida are being denied a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies under the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Department of Education's Office of Articulation wrote to the College Board on January 12 that the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”
“In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion,” the letter stated.
As CNN reported, the College Board declined to directly address the Florida decision, but added, “We look forward to bringing this rich and inspiring exploration of African-American history and culture to students across the country.”
The decision to ban Advanced Placement African American Studies is the latest development in DeSantis' campaign to modify Florida's educational curriculum to restrict the teaching of critical race theory. Under DeSantis, state lawmakers forbade the teaching of the concept, which examines systemic racism in the United States and its continuing effects. The law also prohibited material from the 1619 Project, The New York Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning project to reframe American history around the arrival of slave ships. Additionally, DeSantis signed a bill that restricts the way schools may discuss race with students in 2022.
“This political extremism and its attack of Black History and Black people, is going to create an entire generation of Black children who won’t be able to see themselves reflected at all within their own education or in their own state,” said Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who noted that Florida offers other cultural AP courses.
The history of this country cannot be accurately taught if it doesn't include the vastly significant history of Black people in America. Governor DeSantis is making his white supremacist values extremely clear in his attempts to censor inclusive aspects of American history.
Source: CNN