TALLAHASSEE (LifeSiteNews) – Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has secured another victory in his efforts to “de-woke” education, this time getting the College Board to update its Advanced Placement African American Studies course, after his administration rejected the pilot version for objectionable ideological content.
As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, on January 12 the DeSantis administration issued a letter advising the College Board that it would reject the nonprofit’s request that the state approve its pilot course, on the grounds that its content was “inexplicably contrary to Florida law” and “significantly lacks educational value.” The Florida Department of Education added that it was “willing to reopen the discussion” if the College Board was “willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically accurate content.”
Now, Florida’s Voice reports that the College Board says it will replace the controversial pilot framework with a more appropriate official course framework, expected February 1.
“Before a new AP course is made broadly available, it is piloted in a small number of high schools to gather feedback from high schools and colleges,” the College Board explained. “The official course framework incorporates this feedback and defines what students will encounter on the AP Exam for college credit and placement. We are grateful for the contributions of experts, teachers, and students and look forward to sharing the framework broadly.”
“AP courses are standardized nationwide, and as a result of Florida’s strong stance against identity politics and indoctrination, students across the country will consequentially have access to an historically accurate, unbiased course,” said state education department spokesman Alex Lanfranconi. “As Governor DeSantis said, African American History is American History, and we will not allow any organization to use an academic course as a gateway for indoctrination and a political agenda.”
The governor’s move drew intense ire from critics such as the Biden administration, which attempted to paint DeSantis as whitewashing uncomfortable elements of America’s past. But DeSantis shot back with numerous examples of the course’s controversial elements, including promotion of intersectionality (the contention that the interests of the political Left’s various identity-based factions are all interdependent, from abortion “access” to the LGBT agenda to wealth redistribution to criminal justice “reform” to illegal immigration), reparations for slavery, the left-wing group Movement for Black Lives, and more.
“It’s not fair that to say that somehow abolishing prisons is somehow linked to black experience, that’s what black people want,” he said. “I don’t think that’s true at all. I think they want law and order, just like everyone else wants law and order.” The governor added that “when you try to use black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.”
Taking on the College Board is the latest example of DeSantis following through on the promises he made in his second inaugural address to continue getting ideological proselytization out of public education and more thoroughly making Florida the place “where woke goes to die.”
He has taken numerous actions to prohibit critical race theory and age-inappropriate sexual discussions from classrooms and help elect like-minded conservatives to local school boards, as well as force compliance with state standards such as keeping restrooms sex-specific. This record has contributed to his popularity as a potential contender for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination.