In a controversial decision, Florida high school students were initially barred from taking Advanced Placement Psychology, one of the most popular AP courses offered, for its “foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity” violating state law. The state ultimately decided that the course can be taught in its entirety, but many schools are still opting to remove it for fear of violating laws governing classroom discussions about sexuality, gender and race.
Despite the reversal, the governor still effectively cultivated enough panic to elicit self-censorship. The political right has long sought to control public education by scaring voters with rhetoric that portrays public schools as the nations heart of left-wing indoctrination. Educators and administrations in Florida are being forced to prioritize catering to the feelings of the conservative population rather than teaching factual information.
On July 1, 2023, HB 1069 expanded the provisions of HB 1557 to ban discussions of sexuality and gender from pre-kindergarten
through eighth grade. Under HB 1069, the use of pronouns that do not align with K-12 students’ assigned sex at birth, with exceptions for intersex students, are now prohibited. HB 1069 requires students to be instructed on “the benefits of a monogamous heterosexual marriage,” and abstinence from premarital sex as the standard for pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention. This bill outlines more procedures for reviewing library books and classroom materials as well. Gov. Ron DeSantis expertly presented this legislation to Florida voters as a reasonable course of action against elementary students having conversations about sex to attempt to deprive students of age-appropriate, evidence-based information.
The denial of the existence of LGBTQ+ students will foster an environment of fear and resentment in Florida’s public schools. Also, withholding information about STD and pregnancy prevention will do a major disservice to low-income teens who are disproportionately impacted by these issues.
In Palm Beach County high school, racial micro-aggression among high school students were commonplace, mentions of birth control by students were shut down in sex education, we were frequently told false or misleading information about controlled substances in state-mandated health classes, and a select minority of teachers were outwardly homophobic and transphobic toward their students on several occasions.
Some students aren’t even fully aware of the repercussions associated with the removal of this course.
Madeline Hsu, sophomore psychology major, who took the course in high school, wasn’t aware of the consequences of AP Psychology being removed from Florida’s classrooms.
“I’m not entirely sure if this is correct,” she said. “But I think AP Psychology has modules or topics that are kind of related to things like sex and gender identity. Florida officials don’t like it and they want to either get rid of those types of topics from the course to be taught in Florida, or just get rid of the course in general.”
Her knowledge is a reflection of many students’ understanding of the circumstances surrounding the AP Psychology course.
She also expressed concerns about incoming freshmen lacking transfer credits.
“Before students get to college, they won’t have that type of background or as many credits as other peers that had the option of taking these courses,” she said.
This is not just a ban on AP psychology, it is also the systematic censorship and denial of accurate information that disagrees with a far-right political agenda. Bullying on the basis of race, sexuality, and gender will rise, and we’ll likely see an increase in STD and teen pregnancy rates, as well.
If politicians can influence curriculum, what other kinds of crucial information will be censored next?
The future of AP Psychology and education in Florida is uncertain.
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