Ron DeSantis government bans new advanced African American history course
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Florida officials have blocked the introduction of a new advanced-level high school course that teaches African American history.
Governor Ron DeSantis' administration said the proposed course "lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law".
The course is being rolled out in a pilot programme by the US College Board to 60 high schools across the country.
Officials did not specify what law the course breaks.
The Florida Department of Education outlined its intent to block the course in a 12 January letter to the College Board, writing that the course violates state law.
"In the future, should the College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, (the Department of Education) will always be willing to reopen the discussion," the letter said.
The Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies course is the College Board's first new class since 2014. It is set to cover more than 400 years of African American history, touching on topics like literature, political science and geography.
The course is part of a broader AP programme in US high schools, which gives students the chance to take college-level courses before graduation.
A statement by a spokesperson for Florida's Republican governor 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 amends the course to comply, provides a full course curriculum, and incorporates historically accurate content, then the Department will reconsider the course for approval," said spokesperson Bryan Griffin in a statement to media.
In response, the College Board said the course is "undergoing a rigorous, multi-year pilot phase, collecting 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 has been met with outrage from the National Parents Union, who said the ban is a "direct attack on the Black and all (Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour) communities".
"This behaviour is dangerous and should concern every American," the organisation said, adding they will challenge the decision.
The ban was also criticised by Florida's state senator and Democrat Shevrin Jones, who wrote on Twitter that other AP courses, like European History and several language and culture courses, are still being taught in the state.
"It's crazy how AP African-American studies made the chopping block in FL," Mr Jones wrote.
Last year, Gov DeSantis passed a "Stop WOKE" act that regulates how lessons on race and gender are taught in Florida schools.
"In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory," Mr DeSantis said, citing the academic framework that denotes the existence of systemic racism in American society.
However, one of the developers of the AP African American studies course had previously told Time magazine that the class does not teach "critical race theory".
Rather, Henry-Louis Gates Jr, a leading scholar on African American history in the US, said the course "is a mainstream, rigorously vetted, academic approach to a vibrant field of study".
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Yay? America has a new Great White Hope.
I dont think Ron DeSantis is qualified to say what is accurate or not about African American history.
This is a rather blatant attempt to placate whites who are afraid of the truth.
He doesn't want the MAGA crowd to go wandering.
Wasn’t it the Florida Department of Education that called it inaccurate?
he's pandering to the white supremacists, the thumpers are up next...
White supremists? I don’t think he is pandering to the democrat party leaders.
All the members are appointed by DeSantis.
you mean the goober dino's that couldn't call themselves republicans for 100 years because cousins jethro and cletus caught a mini ball in the skull on their way to losing a war over their racist heritage, while they were mentally challenged due to inbreeding and too poor to own slaves.
Nope, all the modern day democrats who are in congress and the White House
I had no idea so many republicans were democrats.
So, when are the school books/history lessons for Native Americans going to come out?
After all, 500 years of genocide just can't be tossed in the ditch - like it has been and still is being done in the U.S.
They’re not, democrats are the party of the klan.
Native Americans unfortunately aren’t a big enough voting block for pandering politicians to care about.
Didn't we already have a Ron. It's been done before....
This is just another display of right wing cancel culture and censorship.
High schoolers should not be taught that judging people based on their character rather than skin color is racist.
What an insane world where people think indoctrinating kids with far left agit prop is an acceptable role for public schools.
The only positive is that with the board publishing guidelines including the works of CRT scholars like Crenshaw and Collins, progressives will finally have to stop denying the reality of CRT being taught in schools.
“High schoolers should not be taught that judging people based on their character rather than skin color is racist.”
Skin color is just a difference, like blond hair or blue eyes. That should be taught at home and in every grade and in every class.
Revisionist African-American studies is not an appropriate subject for high school students.
They can get indoctrinated into believing CRT fantasies later on when they get to college.