TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The eyes of the country are once again on Florida. Civil rights leaders and educators nationwide have strong words for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Department of Education after it canceled an AP African American studies course. But what's in the course framework rejected by Florida leaders for "lacking educational value?" (see the entire syllabus below)
Speaking at a Jacksonville charter school Monday, DeSantis answered questions for the first time about why the course was canceled.
"In Florida our education standards do not prevent, but require teaching Black history ... that’s part of our core curriculum. This (AP African American studies) was a separate course for advanced placement credit." DeSantis said at Duval Charter School at Baymeadows during a news conference on teacher salaries.
He called the proposed course "indoctrination, not education."
Civil rights leaders, Florida educators, members of the state's Black Caucus and students gathered Wednesday at the state capitol building in Tallassee rallying to to have the course accepted and offered to students. If the course is not accepted, civil rights leader and attorney Ben Crump said they're planning to sue the state.
The College Board, which develops curriculum for Advanced Placement courses, released the following statement to First Coast News' Tampa station WTSP-TV:
"Like all new AP courses, AP African American Studies is undergoing a rigorous, multi-year pilot phase, collecting feedback from teachers, students, scholars and policymakers. The process of piloting and revising course frameworks is a standard part of any new AP course, and frameworks often change significantly as a result.
"We will publicly release the updated course framework when it is completed and well before this class is widely available in American high schools. We look forward to bringing this rich and inspiring exploration of African-American history and culture to students across the country."
Read it for yourself: Here's the course syllabus that was rejected for "lacking educational value"