Florida bans AP Psychology course over LGBTQ+ content, College Board says
The College Board, the organization that administers the Advanced Placement (AP) exams, has announced that the AP Psychology course has been effectively banned in Florida by the state’s Department of Education. The reason for the ban is that the course includes foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity, which the state considers illegal under its recent laws
According to the College Board, the state has told Florida superintendents that they can only teach AP Psychology if they exclude any mention of these topics, which are essential for understanding human development and behavior. However, the College Board said that it cannot modify the course to censor college-level standards, and that any edited version of the course would not be eligible for college credit, placement, or career readiness.
The ban affects thousands of Florida students who have already registered for AP Psychology, which is a popular elective course that prepares them for college-level psychology. The course covers topics such as biological bases of behavior, learning, memory, personality, social psychology, and abnormal psychology. The course also asks students to describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.
The ban is part of a larger conflict between the Florida Department of Education and the College Board over classroom teachings. Earlier this year, the state also rejected an African American history AP course that it claimed was filled with critical race theory and other violations of Florida law. The state also passed controversial standards for teaching Black history that have been criticized by Vice President Kamala Harris and Black conservatives. The ban has sparked outrage from civil rights groups, educators, and students who see it as an attack on academic freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.
The Human Rights Campaign said that the ban “compromised the quality of education in the state by acting as if LGBTQ+ people don’t exist”. Equality Florida said that the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis “is at war with students and parents, censoring more AP curriculum and denying students the opportunity to earn college credit”. The College Board said that it advises Florida districts not to offer AP Psychology until the state reverses its decision and allows parents and students to choose to take the full course.
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