After a two-day quarrel between the Florida Department of Education and the College Board, high school students will get to keep AP Psychology on their class schedules.
The College Board — the nonprofit that manages Advanced Placement courses — and the Florida Department of Education debated the future of AP Psychology in Florida last week.
The College Board announced Thursday its AP Psychology course was “effectively banned” in Florida due to the class’s section on gender identity and sexual orientation. Schools that censor the course's required content will lose the AP designation for the class, the nonprofit added.
Instruction on the topics is prohibited in Florida’s K-12 classrooms under the state’s recently enacted expansion to the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
However, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr., notified school superintendents that students could take AP Psychology “in its entirety” as long as the class is taught “in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate,” in a Friday letter.
“College Board has suggested that it might withhold the 'AP' designation from this course in Florida, ultimately hurting Florida students,” Diaz wrote. “AP Psychology is and will remain in the course code directory making it available to Florida students.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected a preliminary version of the nonprofit’s AP African American Studies course for including topics such as Black queer studies and intersectionality, which he said defy state law.
Florida officials asked the College Board for reassurance the AP Psychology course curriculum complied with Florida regulations and laws in June. The College Board dismissed the request, refusing to modify its courses in light of newly enacted state legislation.
Diaz’s letter raises questions for school officials about how the course’s section on gender identity and sexual orientation can be taught in compliance with state law.
“We will be seeking additional clarification on the language in the commissioner's letter — particularly the section on 'age and developmentally appropriate' and what that means in light of state law,” said Jackie Johnson, Alachua County Public Schools spokesperson, in a statement.
Roughly 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology last year with the course’s sexual orientation and gender identity section. The subjects have been part of the course’s unit on developmental psychology since launching around 30 years ago.
Former AP Psychology students were disappointed by the conflict and the possibility of others losing the course, as it had a significant impact on their high school experience.
Derek Simon, a 21-year-old UF psychology senior, said taking the course in high school inspired him to pursue a career as a researcher in the field. The course did an excellent job of providing a base understanding of psychology, he said.
However, he was alarmed by the recent controversy.
“The current state of AP Psychology in Florida is truly sad and troubling,” he wrote. “Politics has no place in the domain of scientific inquiry, regardless of what is being studied.”
Kanna Isabel Agnila, a 20-year-old UF psychology junior, also took AP Psychology in high school. The class helped Agnila with her comprehension of human behaviors and learning theories.
“It provided a safe space for me to not only express my identity and mental health but also learn content that is relevant today,” Agnila said.
AP Psychology helps destigmatize mental health issues while informing students on treatments, prevention, risk factors and other pertinent information that is often overlooked in the regular curriculum, she said.
“To deny people access to this course and its contents is doing the future generations a massive disservice,” Agnila said. “Controlling education, especially access to all of the curriculum due to homophobia is not right and detrimental to everyone.”
In response to Diaz’s letter, the College Board released a statement late Friday, confirming that Florida school districts should be able to offer the class.
“We hope now that Florida teachers will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year,” the College Board wrote.
Contact Amanda at afriedman@alligator.org and Gabriel at gvelasquezneira@alligator.org. Follow them on Twitter @amandasfriedman and @gvelasquezn.
Gabriel Velasquez Neira is a second-year Journalism major, and the Audio Editor and Metro GA Reporter. In his free time, he enjoys sleeping, taking photos and playing guitar.
Amanda Friedman is a senior journalism major and the Enterprise Editor at The Alligator. She previously wrote for the Avenue, Metro and University desks. When she isn't reporting, she loves watching coming-of-age films and listening to Ariana Grande.
