The College Board sent out a nationwide notice to public educators today finally taking a stand against the Florida Department of Education’s demands for modified Advanced Placement (AP) course curriculum.
Learning from their prior missteps in bending to Florida’s will regarding the content of AP African American Studies curriculum, the notice states that requested changes to exclude topics of gender and sexual orientation from AP Psychology courses pursuant to Florida laws on classroom instruction will not be honored.
The notice goes on to explain the importance of AP courses in relation to college preparedness and addresses AP teachers with the following admonition: “To AP teachers everywhere, please know we will not modify any of the 40 AP courses—from art to history to science—in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness.”
It goes further, explaining that AP course participation has always been a choice and is not a requirement. Not a point to be made lightly, as choice is one of those fundamental American principles that seems to have fallen to the wayside in recent years (and I, for one, am happy to see it making its way back!).
There was never a reason to impose Florida’s (irrational) decisions regarding public education upon the millions of other students across this great nation. That used to be the beautiful thing about America—individuals and families everywhere were free to make the choices that were best for them.
Way to go, College Board!
And my condolences go out to the Florida students who may be unable to benefit from AP courses if Florida opts to ban them. It’s sad and unfortunate. (But I bet they’ll remember this when it’s their time at the polls….)
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