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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has rejected the AP African-American Studies curriculum for students in the state, claiming it “lacks educational value.”
News of the administration’s decision to reject the program was reported on Thursday (Jan.19th), angering many academics and Democratic lawmakers. The state’s education department had expressed its intent in a letter sent to the College Board last week. “As presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value,” the letter said. Reportedly, these officials weren’t even aware of what the AP course syllabus contained before their rejection.
There were no specific reasons for their decision given, but other Republican officials have expressed that the curriculum violates the state’s Stop W.O.K.E Act which was signed into law last year by DeSantis. The bill restricts certain racially-based analyses and conversations. DeSantis claims that the legislation is meant to fight “wokeness as a form of cultural Marxism.”
Part of that law was temporarily blocked by a judge last August, citing the “dystopian” reasoning behind it and its potential effects.
The College Board responded to press inquiries that “we look forward to publicly releasing the updated course framework as soon as it is completed and well before this class is widely available in American high schools.” State Democratic lawmaker Anna Eskamani pointed out the hypocrisy of the move. “If I can take American and European history there’s absolutely no reason why, I see no reason why our students shouldn’t have the option to take African-American history,” she said to The Daily Beast. The National Parents Union expressed its outrage at DeSantis’ actions in a statement, writing: “DeSantis continues to be a threat to democratic values as he abuses his power to dictate what Florida students can learn and think about.”
The move is another low point for the Republican governor, who has brazenly enacted policies that have harmed the Black community in Florida over the past few years while setting his eyes on the presidency in 2024. DeSantis has also zeroed in on the LGBTQ+ community with harsh policies, including legislation banning instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten to third grade commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill which he signed into law last March.
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