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Last year, Governor DeSantis passed a “Stop WOKE” law that regulates how lessons on race and gender are taught in Florida schools.
Florida officials have blocked the introduction of a new advanced high school course that teaches African-American history.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration said the proposed course “lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law.”
The course is being rolled out as part of a pilot program led by the US College Board in 60 high schools across the country.
Officials did not specify which law the course violated.
The Florida Department of Education announced its intention to block the course in a Jan. 12 letter to the College Board, writing that the course violates state law.
“In the future, if the College Board is willing to return to the table with legal and historically accurate content, (the Department of Education) will always be willing to reopen the discussion,” the letter states.
The Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course is the College Board’s first new class since 2014. It is expected to cover more than 400 years of African American history, tackling topics such as literature, political science and geography.
The course is part of a broader AP program in U.S. high schools, which gives students the opportunity to take college-level courses before graduation.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Florida Republican Gov. DeSantis said the course “leaves large ambiguous gaps that can be filled with additional ideological material, which we will not allow.”
“If the College Board modifies the course to make it compliant, provides a comprehensive course curriculum, and incorporates historically accurate content, then the department will reconsider the course for approval,” spokesperson Bryan Griffin said in a media statement.
In response, the College Board said the course “is undergoing a rigorous, multi-year pilot phase, gathering feedback from teachers, students, scholars, and policymakers.”
“We look forward to bringing this rich and inspiring exploration of African American history and culture to students across the country,” the board said.
The decision to block the African American studies course sparked outrage from the National Parents Union, which said the ban was a “direct attack on black communities and all communities (black, indigenous and of color)”.
“This behavior is dangerous and should concern all Americans,” the organization said, adding that it would challenge the decision.
The ban was also criticized by Democratic Sen. and Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who wrote on Twitter that other AP courses, like European history and several language and culture courses, are still provided in the state.
“It’s crazy how much of a barrier AP African American Studies has been in Florida,” Mr. Jones wrote.
Last year, Governor DeSantis passed a “Stop WOKE” law that regulates how lessons on race and gender are taught in Florida schools.
“In Florida, we take a stand against state-sanctioned racism that constitutes critical race theory,” DeSantis said, citing the academic framework that points to the existence of systemic racism in American society. .
However, one of the developers of the AP African American Studies course previously told Time magazine that the course did not teach “critical race theory.”
Henry-Louis Gates Jr, a leading scholar of African-American history in the United States, said instead that the course “is a traditional, rigorously vetted academic approach to a dynamic field of study.”
DeSantis’ culture war
Ron DeSantis has assembled the kind of dossier on hot-button conservative issues that could form the heart of a presidential campaign later this year.
He has repeatedly criticized government mandates to control the spread of Covid-19 and has broadened his attacks to include the development of coronavirus vaccines. He has attacked big business, including Florida powerhouse Disney, for serving liberal interests and ideologies. He accused social media companies of bias against conservatives.
However, the topic Mr. DeSantis seems most focused on is education. He enthusiastically supported state legislation limiting the ability of school teachers to talk about LGBTQ issues in their classrooms. He has supported conservative candidates for local school boards and appointed controversial conservative activists to university trustees. He calls for a ban on transgender athletes in interscholastic competitions.
His latest decision, blocking the use of an advanced African-American studies curriculum in Florida’s public high schools, is just one piece of this larger puzzle. If Mr. DeSantis runs for president, he will present to primary voters that he is the Republican who is taking real action on conservative concerns — the kind of culture war red meat that is a staple of right-wing media .
