DeSantis Rejects AP African American Course.

News | Imani Majors | January 20th, 2023.

On January 12, Florida governor Ron Desantis rejected College Board’s request to approve an Advanced Placement African American course on the grounds that it violated the “Stop Woke” act. The new course was set to study the African diaspora in the United States and is already being tested in 60 schools across the country. In the rejection letter to College Board, Desantis claims that the course “is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

The rejection of this African American AP class sheds important light on the extremely conservative direction Desantis has for Florida schools. Since Desantis took office in 2019, he has been actively working to ban the teaching of “critical race theory”. Critical race theory is the examination of how laws and politics have been influenced by the social conception of race. It has become a buzzword among Republican politicians, many of whom claim that the theory causes children to believe that America is evil and that it unnecessarily divides people. Thirty-six states have bills written that restrict teaching on race and gender, some states having more severe laws than others. This AP class would run afoul of the laws Desantis has on banning critical race theory, so the future of this course in conservative states with similar laws does not seem likely.

College Board has claimed that they do not find their class to advocate critical race theory in any way. However, whether the class can be taught in Florida or not, it is important to see the extreme agenda Desantis has for Florida schools. Time and time again, he uses schools as political pawns, as seen in the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the Florida education system deserves better.