ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams across the nation, says it's not going to modify its curriculum to accommodate Florida's new law that further limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The non-profit organization said in a statement Thursday that Florida school district leaders asked how to navigate the board's AP Psychology course relative to Florida's expanded law and additional restrictions.
It released a statement in response to the Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation that reportedly requested to "audit and potentially modify" AP courses, saying:
"[College Board] will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics. Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for careers in the discipline.
"The learning objective within AP Psychology that covers gender and sexual orientation has specifically been raised by some Florida districts relative to these recent regulations. That learning objective must remain a required topic, just as it has been in Florida for many years. As with all AP courses, required topics must be included for a course to be designated as AP."
The board also says American Psychological Association "made clear that the topics of gender and sexual orientation are foundational for any college-level course in psychology" and said to educators:
"To AP teachers in Florida, we are heartbroken by the possibility of Florida students being denied the opportunity to participate in this or any AP course."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year expanded the state's Parental Rights in Education law — controversial legislation that has been dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics — that further limits public school classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Those discussions now are restructured through 8th grade and marking the topics as acceptable in grades 9-12 if it’s cleared as "age-appropriate."
The law also prohibits school staffers or students from being required to refer to people by pronouns that don’t correspond to the person’s sex.
The College Board earlier this year garnered national attention following its rollout of AP African American Studies and its initial response to Florida's critique of the course's framework.
In its news statement, officials say they "have learned from our mistakes" and know that they "must be clear from the outset where we stand."
