Posted on January 20, 2023

DeSantis Administration Blocks AP African American Studies Course From School Curriculum

Rachel Schilke, Washington Examiner, January 19, 2023

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ‘s administration has blocked the inclusion of an Advanced Placement class centered on African American Studies in high schools .

The Washington Examiner obtained a letter from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Articulation to the College Board stating that the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” {snip}

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This is a significant win for DeSantis, who had several portions of his Stop WOKE Act that would restrict critical race theory instruction in public university classrooms scrapped. Judge Mark Walker, who struck it down, compared the legislation to George Orwell’s authoritarian dystopian novel,1984.

In 2021, Florida enacted a law that banned teaching critical race theory, a catch-all term for lessons and policies that encourage children to see themselves and others almost exclusively through the lens of race, as well as the 1619 Project, a New York Times project that reframed American history around the arrival of slaves in America.

The College Board unveiled plans to offer the African American studies course last year and is being piloted in 60 schools during the 2022-2023 school year. The board’s goal is to have the course in all U.S. schools for the 2024-2025 school year, with the first exam to take place in spring 2025, per the website .

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