In another battle with Florida, the College Board announced that its AP Psychology course won’t be altered to meet the state’s education laws.
In a statement Thursday, the board said that since Florida has banned teaching sexual orientation and gender identity, the state has “effectively banned AP Psychology.”
“The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics,” the board said in a statement.
The College Board is an educational organization that runs the Advanced Placement, or AP, course studies that allow high school students to start earning credits for college.
The AP Psychology course, which was started 30 years ago, has always included gender identity and sexual orientation, the board said. In the class, students are asked to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.” The board said in June that they “cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations” and they have kept their stance.
“To be clear, any AP Psychology course taught in Florida will violate either Florida law or college requirements,” the statement continues. “Therefore, we advise Florida districts not to offer AP Psychology until Florida reverses their decision and allows parents and students to choose to take the full course.”
This is the second time the College Board has been at odds with Florida. The Sunshine State has criticized the new AP African American History course, pointing to its inclusion of queer history, the Black Lives Matter movement, and reparations. The board announced the introduction of the class back in February after the course had been through a pilot program in 60 schools; it has expanded to 800 schools for the upcoming school year.
However, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the course had a “political agenda” and the Department of Education questioned whether critical race theory would be included. With DeSantis’ Don’t Say Gay and Stop WOKE Acts, many elements of the course would not be allowed. In response, Allendale United Methodist church in St. Petersburg offered space for the class to be taught in person and virtually for those who are interested.
“I believe we have to know our history, so that we can do better as a community. When one part of our community suffers, whether that’s Black or brown children or LGBTQ children, all parts are attacked,” Pastor Andy Oliver told WFTS.
The first day of school for Broward County Public Schools is Aug. 21.
