AP African American Studies rejected

Rachelle English | Staff Reporter

When senior Verona Hall first found out that African American Studies would be offered as an AP course, she was delighted. However, those hopes were dashed as the state of Florida rejected the AP African American Studies course on Monday.

“I [feel] that the history of African Americans shouldn’t be ignored [because] it is a very important part of America’s history as well,” Hall said.

With the introduction of the non-AP, honorslevel African American Studies course for the first time this year, students like Hall were looking forward to the AP course with hopes of diversity among course selection. However, it does not seem like the course will be offered any time soon.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, along with the Florida Department of Education, denied the AP course, citing reasons that it violated state laws and touched on topics that the state did not see fit. However, many critics argue the decision was motivated by politics instead of true educational value.

Since then, the College Board has removed some of the controversial topics in its newer version of the framework, which was released on Feb. 1. According to the College Board, the topics were “not a required part of the course framework” and are now offered as topics for a research project.

Some topic names have been changed completely, some have merged into broader topics and some parts of the coursework remain unchanged in the newer version. The FLDOE has yet to comment on the new revisions and whether or not the course will be offered for the following school year.

“We were planning on [offering the course], but obviously we take our direction from the governor, so we are not going to be able to offer that,” assistant principal Kristi Draus said.

According to school administrators, the course was planned to be offered as a pilot to schools in Seminole County, but was shortly removed after the announcement of the governor’s decisions. There is a possibility that if the revised framework for the course is accepted, the course could still be offered.

The original coursework for the class, incorporating topics like intersectionality and books dealing with critical race theory, was released by a local Florida newspaper after the decision was officially announced. The teachings did not align with the ideas of the Stop W.O.K.E Act, also known as the Individual Freedoms Act, which would prohibit teachers from educating students about “woke” topics.

Although the FLDOE issued this decision, many educators do not feel like this was the right choice.

“Any time there’s an educational opportunity that’s missed for kids, I think that’s unfortunate,” African American Studies teacher Amy Bingham said. “[But] we as public school employees have to be in compliance.”

The students also feel that not having the class would be a missing piece in education that could have reverberating consequences in the future.

“I think there will be less people willing to learn about African American history in college because they weren’t introduced to it in high school,” Hall said.

Although AP African American Studies is no longer an option, new history courses like Holocaust Studies will provide students with a more diverse selection of courses. Despite topics that might seem similar to the denied AP course, both the Holocaust Studies and African American Studies courses are expected to continue as planned.

“We had a Holocaust education mandate before, but under Governor DeSantis, that mandate has been expanded,” history teacher Megan Thompson said.

However, given the political climate, there is concern that the classes might have more oversight than before.

“There’s been [more of] a focus on instructional materials—people might start looking at materials more closely,” Draus said.

Despite the close attention to details, there is no concern that either course will be dropped. Administrators at the school and county levels have looked to offer classes with a greater variety of viewpoints on important periods of history; however, that has been overshadowed by the refusal of the AP class. The decision gained national attention from educators and parents as well.

Although the direction of the course is not what she foresaw, Draus still has hope for the future of it.

“I’m hopeful that maybe the College Board will clarify what’s in the course and maybe that’s naive of me, but I am hopeful that there will be a change and we will be able to offer it,” Draus said.

War Of Words

On Feb. 11, the College Board released a statement hoping to “set the record straight” and “clear the air” surrounding the controversial matter. They expressed their firm dedication to the AP African American Studies course and the effects it will have on students. They provided a list of their faults and how they have been resolved, but also mentioned that the political commentary mentioning the course is not all true.

The College Board condemns this uninformed caricature of African American Studies.

- The College Board

“These phone calls with FDOE were absent of substance, despite [their] audacious claims of influence,” the College Board said.

In response to the statement made by the College Board, DeSantis has continued his criticism of College Board.

This College Board... nobody elected them to anything.

- Gov. Ron DeSantis

“There are probably some other vendors who may be able to do that job as good, or maybe even a lot better,” DeSantis said.