On Aug. 3, the Florida Education Department and College Board effectively banned Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology courses from its curriculum. This decision, while disheartening, was not surprising.
Since the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that placed limitations on what can be taught regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, there have been speculations about what’s going to be targeted next. An NPR article states that “Studies have shown that LGBTQ youth already face higher health and suicide risks than their cisgender or straight peers. When those kids are given access to spaces that affirm their gender identity, they report lower rates of suicide attempts.”
Now, with yet another attack on the state’s education, people are starting to get vocal. The College Board released a statement detailing their feelings regarding the AP Psych development. “We have heard from teachers across Florida who are heartbroken that they are being forced to drop AP and instead teach alternatives that have been deemed legal because the courses exclude these topics,” the statement said. It continued by saying the state’s late ban on this course sets kids back and derails their college readiness.
As the start of the school year rapidly approached, the College Board announced their decision to not remove any content from the AP Psych course and, instead, told the state’s school districts to not teach the course until Florida reversed the ban. This led to accusations spewing from Florida Education, saying that the College Board is “hurting Florida students.”
Florida Education mentions that the course is still available to students, but teachers will not dare teach something that has so much political heat around it. Not to mention teaching a course that has over half of its content removed would be useless. Until Florida’s Department of Education gets their heads on straight and removes the ban, there is no reason to even offer the course.
AP Psych is one of the most popular AP courses that the College Board offers, according to their previous statement. In every state, this ban is going to affect students a lot more than officials realize. Students have a right to learn the curriculum in its entirety, and Florida Education is doing its students a disservice by removing it. If the state continues to target minority groups like people of color and the LGBTQ community, they are going to see a major rise in mental health problems.
What does this mean for Texas? It means we need to be alert and ready; if Florida Education officials were able to put this into action, there is a good chance that Texas officials will follow, seeing how they bode similarly in this political climate. Limiting what is taught at schools does not mean that children will just be ignorant, they will know that they are being deceived and lied to. Education departments are supposed to have the students’ best interests at heart, but it feels like no one is even considering them.
