Schools chief apologizes for pulling AP Psych, says he can't risk teachers being arrested

Update: The Palm Beach County School District reversed course and announced it will offer AP Psych on Aug. 9. Read about it here.

Days after pulling the Advanced Placement Psychology course from Palm Beach County schools, Superintendent Mike Burke apologized to parents whose kids won't be able to take the class after a flurry of conflicting information from state education officials.

"If there was a way we could teach this course and not have our teachers get arrested, we would do it in a second," he said at a Tuesday morning "Back to School breakfast" presented by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches.

Burke was referring to the possibility that the district and its teachers could be accused of breaking the Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits discussions of sexuality and gender identity in Florida classrooms.

More on the decision to pull the course: Palm Beach County students won't be able to take AP Psychology this year. What happened?

Unit six in the AP Psychology curriculum covers gender identity and sexuality as part of its content on developmental psychology, which focuses on how social and physical changes over humans' lifespans can influence their behavior, according to the College Board's website. The nonprofit education organization develops AP classes and administers the SAT exam.

Burke said about 1,400 students across Palm Beach County were enrolled in the class this school year, making it one of the "most popular" AP classes. Academic counselors and administrators will be reaching out to students enrolled in AP Psychology for the upcoming year.

School starts on Thursday.

What happened to AP Psych in Palm Beach County?

The College Board advised Florida school superintendents on Aug. 3 not to offer AP Psychology unless Florida reversed course and allowed students to take the course unedited under the Parental Rights in Education law.

That law, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law, originally prohibited instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classes. It went into effect in July 2022.

This spring, the prohibitions in the law were expanded through 12th grade.

The College Board said in its statement that cutting discussions of sexuality and gender invalidated the AP course and that Florida had "effectively banned" it.

But on Friday, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. weighed in, appearing to reverse the guidance given to superintendents.

"In fact, the Department believes that AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate and the course remains listed in our course catalog," Diaz wrote.

Still, citing the "uncertainty surrounding the viability of the AP Psychology exam and course credit in Florida," school district spokesperson Angela Cruz Ledford announced the district's decision to pull the course Friday evening.

"We apologize for any inconvenience caused to students and our teachers who have already prepared for this course and want to assure our community that we are dedicated to helping our students find suitable alternatives within our curriculum," Ledford said.

Other districts are erring on the side of caution.

In Brevard County, Superintendent Mark Rendell cited the same concerns about legal repercussions against teachers that Burke brought up Tuesday, Florida Today reported.

“As I stated before, if a teacher teaches all elements of the course, they will violate the law,” Rendell wrote in an email Saturday morning. “If they do not teach all elements of the course the students lose the AP certification. I will not put either (our) students or staff in this position.”

Superintendent discusses African American studies in Palm Beach County classrooms

Burke took questions from business leaders Tuesday and also addressed Florida's dustup with the College Board regarding its AP African American Studies course, which was launched as a "pilot class" in some U.S. high schools last year. It's not clear whether any Palm Beach County high schools were part of the pilot.

More on AP African American Studies: Gov. Ron DeSantis' feud with the College Board over AP African American Studies, explained

In January, Florida Education Department officials rejected parts of the proposed AP African American Studies curriculum, saying it violated state law and was "significantly" lacking in educational value. The letter did not specify which laws the course violated.

Burke said Tuesday that Palm Beach County schools don't currently offer AP African American studies, but that the district has an honors course in African American studies.

He said recent guidance by the Department of Education to teach students that enslaved people gained certain skills that could be used to their own benefit later in life is "offensive."

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County Schools chief can't risk teacher arrests over AP Psych