Florida School Districts Dropping AP Psychology Due to LGBTQ Content
if material related to sexual orientation or gender identity is removed. Districts were encouraged to have teachers offer a modified version of the class.But the College Board, which runs the Advanced Placement program — through which high school students can earn college credits — said that any modified version of the class would not be compliant with college requirements, and could therefore cannot be called an “Advanced Placement” course.
Last week, the College Board said the course was “effectively banned” in the state and advised school districts not to offer the course — regardless of any preparations they’d already made.Since the course launched in 1993, it has asked students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.” But experts familiar with the test say that the only real requirement is that students learn the definitions of, and differences between, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Those experts argue that Florida is overreacting to any mention of LGBTQ-related topics in the course, despite actual instruction not delving deeply into the topic.Under the state’s so-called “Parental Rights in Education Act,” dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics — not to mention rules and professional standards approved by the Florida Department of Education — teachers are prohibited from including lessons or providing “instruction” on sexual orientation or gender identity in all K-12 classrooms throughout the state.
