Florida and the College Board engaged in a public feud that led to confusion about what was allowed to be taught in Florida schools at the start of the 23-24 school year.
On August 3, the College Board issued a statement that stated AP Psychology in Florida had been banned under the new Parental Rights in Education law.
The statement read, “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.”
This past spring the Parental Rights law was expanded to include all k-12 grades. The law states there is no teaching of gender identity, and sexual orientation unless they’re expressly required by state academic standards. This caused a lot of confusion regarding what this actually meant for Florida High School students.
This law was misinterpreted by many, where many thought it meant that Advanced Placement Psychology could no longer be taught because of these sensitive topics.
According to the law, these topics can be part of the curriculum if the instruction is age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.
This law states nothing about AP Psychology being banned, but rather that it must be taught in an age appropriate setting.
“The law does not prohibit us from teaching AP Psychology or its contents, as long as it is age appropriate. You can teach gender identity, and sexual orientation. We believe, as does the Archdiocese of Miami, that AP Psychology at the twelfth grade level, is appropriate to teach,” Vice Principal for Academics, Mrs. Gloria Ramos said.
Mrs. Annie Sanchez, Chair of the Social Studies Department, who has been teaching at the school for 15 years, six of which she has taught AP Psychology. Mrs. Sanchez was concerned when the law was initially passed.
“When the law first came out, the College board put out a statement, so I held my breath there for a minute. A couple days after that the Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said that the class could continue to be offered as intended. A day or two after the Archdiocese released a similar statement which reassured me that AP psychology wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, ” Mrs. Sanchez said.
This class has been taught at the school for around 12 years, and it has always been a popular class.
Seniors were emailing their teachers nonstop to confirm that they’d still be able to take the class they’d been looking forward to taking since freshman year..
This course has been a popular offering for years. It is often showcased during school tours for prospective students. Students look forward to taking the class from the start of their high school career until their first day of senior year.
“I was really scared for a while because I’ve been looking forward to taking this class since I did my first tour of Lourdes, in seventh grade,” senior Elena Fallow said.
