AP Psychology 'effectively banned' in Florida over sexuality lessons, College Board says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has essentially barred a high school Advanced Placement psychology course in the state because it includes lessons on sexual orientation and identity that violate state law, the College Board said Thursday.

The decision not only deepens a raging dispute between the struggling Republican presidential candidate and massive education nonprofit, but it also threatens the course loads of thousands of Florida students just before a new school year.

“We are sad to have learned that today the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law,” the College Board said in a statement. “The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics.”

Earlier this summer, the College Board, which administers AP exams, rejected calls to change its AP Psychology lessons on gender and sexual orientation in a direct challenge to DeSantis after his administration expanded restrictions and regulations on classroom instruction in April. That decision came after Florida and the nonprofit previously clashed over an African American history AP course that state officials rebuked for being “filled with Critical Race Theory and other obvious violations of Florida law,” pointing to the “anti-woke” policies under DeSantis.

But the DeSantis administration denied the College Board’s latest claims, and instead blamed the nonprofit for attempting to cut off access to the course.

The Florida Department of Education, in a stinging response, accused the College Board of “playing games” with students by cutting off access to the course with the school year mere days away. State education officials chided the nonprofit for not ensuring that its college credit psychology class complied with state law as other AP providers did, such as the International Baccalaureate program.

“Just one week before school starts, the College Board is attempting to force school districts to prevent students from taking the AP Psychology Course,” FLDOE spokesperson Cassie Palelis said in a statement. “The Department didn’t ‘ban’ the course. The course remains listed in Florida’s Course Code Directory for the 2023-24 school year.”

Florida's education system was also thrust in the national spotlight over Black history teaching standards that aim to instruct students that slaves learned skills that "could be applied for their personal benefit." That controversy prompted sharp rebukes from Vice President Kamala Harris and Black conservatives.

"Now, Florida’s Department of Education has further compromised the quality of education in the state by acting as if LGBTQ+ people don’t exist," Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. "LGBTQ+ people do exist, and any decision to remove us from curricula isn’t going to change that.”

More than 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology in the 2022-23 academic year, according to the College Board, which said the course asks students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.”

“The state’s ban of this content removes choice from parents and students,” the board said. “Coming just days from the start of school, it derails the college readiness and affordability plans of tens of thousands of Florida students currently registered for AP Psychology, one of the most popular AP classes in the state.”

Florida’s decision to block the psychology content was also panned by Equality Florida, an LGBTQ advocacy group. The organization likened the move to state officials' past objections to the AP African American Studies course and claims that that course “lacks significant educational value.”

“The DeSantis regime is at war with students and parents, censoring more AP curriculum and denying students the opportunity to earn college credit,” Equality Florida said in a statement.

The DeSantis administration's firm stance against sexual content in Florida’s schools also includes recently strengthening a state rule that expands parental rights laws, labeled “Don’t Say Gay” measures by critics, that is at the center of this dispute.

Under the policy, classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited among all K-12 students instead of targeting lessons for children only in kindergarten through third grade as in the original 2022 law.

In wake of this change, Florida’s Department of Education pressed the College Board in May to review its courses to determine if any “need modification to ensure compliance” with state laws and regulations, a stance that ultimately put the psychology class at risk.

The College Board — in a shift in how the nonprofit is handling Florida since the battle over Black history — responded by declining to alter the course. This move created a stalemate that is only now coming to a head as the fall semester nears, sparking new uncertainty for “tens of thousands” of Florida students set to take the course.

Florida education officials told school superintendents about the state’s decision to deny students access to the course during a Thursday conference call, according to a report from the USA Today Network.