DeSantis administration rejects inclusion of AP African American Studies class in Florida high schools - CNN

CNN  — 

The medication of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is blocking a caller Advanced Placement people for precocious schoolhouse students on African American studies.

In a January 12 missive to the College Board, the nonprofit enactment that oversees AP coursework, the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Articulation said the people is “inexplicably contrary to Florida instrumentality and importantly lacks acquisition value.”

The missive did not elaborate connected what the bureau recovered objectionable successful the people content. A spokeswoman for the section did not instantly respond to a CNN inquiry.

“In the future, should College Board beryllium consenting to travel backmost to the array with lawful, historically close content, FDOE volition ever beryllium consenting to reopen the discussion,” the missive stated.

In a connection to CNN, the College Board declined to straight code the determination successful Florida but said, “We look guardant to bringing this affluent and inspiring exploration of African-American past and civilization to students crossed the country.”

The rejection of an Advanced Placement African American Studies people follows efforts by DeSantis to overhaul Florida’s acquisition program to bounds teaching astir captious contention theory. In 2021, the authorities enacted a instrumentality that banned teaching the concept, which explores the past of systemic racism successful the United States and its continued impacts. The instrumentality besides banned worldly from The 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning task by The New York Times to reframe American past astir the accomplishment of enslaved ships connected American shores. Last year, DeSantis also signed a bill restricting however schools tin speech astir contention with students.

The College Board unveiled plans to connection an African American studies people for the archetypal clip past year. The people is being offered arsenic a aviator successful 60 schools crossed the state during the 2022-23 schoolhouse year, with the extremity of making the people disposable to each schools successful the 2024-25 schoolhouse year. The archetypal AP African American Studies exam would beryllium administered successful the Spring of 2025, according to the College Board website.

It was not instantly wide if Florida had immoderate schools presently participating successful the aviator program. The College Board said the Advanced Placement Program has been moving with higher acquisition institutions to make an African American Studies programme for a decade.

“Like each caller AP courses, AP African American Studies is undergoing a rigorous, multi-year aviator phase, collecting feedback from teachers, students, scholars and policymakers,” the connection said. “The process of piloting and revising people frameworks is simply a modular portion of immoderate caller AP course, and frameworks often alteration importantly arsenic a result. We volition publically merchandise the updated people model erstwhile it is completed and good earlier this people is wide disposable successful American precocious schools.”

In a Twitter station Wednesday, Democratic authorities Sen. Shevrin Jones, who is Black, noted that Florida offers different taste AP courses.

“This governmental extremism and its onslaught of Black History and Black people, is going to make an full procreation of Black children who won’t beryllium capable to spot themselves reflected astatine each wrong their ain acquisition oregon successful their ain state,” Jones said.

DeSantis’ determination comes arsenic his lasting among conservatives has soared nationwide pursuing his nationalist stances connected hot-button taste issues and against nationalist wellness officials and bureaucrats during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is said to beryllium weighing a imaginable 2024 statesmanlike bid.

A radical of Republican authorities legislators successful Michigan seeking to draught him for the 2024 contention signed connected to a missive that was hand-delivered to the Florida politician past month, asking that helium “seek the statesmanlike information of our Republican Party.”

The missive was signed by 18 GOP members of the Michigan Senate and House, who wrote that DeSantis is “uniquely and exceptionally qualified to supply the enactment and competence that is, unfortunately, missing astatine 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” In closing, they said they “stand acceptable and consenting to assistance you triumph Michigan successful 2024.”

Details of the missive were first reported by Politico.