AP Psychology Course 'Effectively Banned' in Florida, College Board Says
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The organization is advising Florida school districts against teaching the course until the state allows students to take the full course
AP Photo/Daily Journal, Scott Roberson
High school classroomThe College Board's Advanced Placement Psychology course was "effectively banned" by the Florida Department of Education, the organization said Thursday, citing recent laws passed to ban teaching "foundational content" about sexual orientation and gender identity.
"We are sad to have learned that today the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law," the College Board wrote Thursday. "The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics."
The College Board added that lessons featuring discussions on gender and sexual orientation are “not new” and have been part of AP Psychology for three decades.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
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In June, the College Board stated it is unable to modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness. On Thursday, the organization reiterated that point, adding that a student taught an edited version of the course could not include it on their transcripts. An edited version could also not be considered "AP," "Advanced Placement" or "AP Psychology."
“To be clear, any AP Psychology course taught in Florida will violate either Florida law or college requirements," the College Board noted. "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."
The organization added that teachers across Florida are "heartbroken" that they have to teach alternative courses approved by state officials because they avoid discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“It strains credulity to believe that our reviewers would certify for college credit a psychology course that didn’t include gender identity,” American Council on Education president Ted Mitchell said in the statement.
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The situation comes days before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, with thousands of students already registered for AP Psychology. They will have to make last-minute changes that could impact their curriculum due to the Florida Department of Education’s decision, per the College Board.
The Florida Department of Education disputed the College Board's claim the course was banned. Cassie Palelis, Deputy Director of Communications for the Florida Department of Education, warned the College Board to “stop playing games,” according to USA Today.
"The Department didn’t 'ban' the course. The class is still listed in Florida’s Course Code Directory for the 2023-2024 year,” Palelis said in a statement. "We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly. The other advanced course providers (including the International Baccalaureate program) had no issue providing the college credit psychology course."
In January, the Florida Department of Education also rejected adding the College Board's new AP African American history course, claiming it "lacks educational value and is contrary to Florida law."
"In the future, should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion," the Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation wrote in a letter to the College Board.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken action to reshape educational policy in the state since taking office. In May, he signed a law to eliminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from public universities and prohibit the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in general education courses.
"DEI is better viewed as standing for 'discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,' and that has no place in our public institutions," DeSantis said at the time.
Last month, Florida's Board of Education approved new academic standards for teaching slavery. The standards require middle school students to be taught that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." The standards, which DeSantis defended, were approved in response to the 2022 "Stop WOKE Act,"
The standards were criticized by Vice President Kamala Harris. "Just yesterday in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it,” Harris said during a speech at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s 56th national convention in Indianapolis on July 20.
In 2022, DeSantis also signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, which critics called the "Don't Say Gay" bill, limiting how students are taught topics on sexual orientation and gender identity.
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