College Board Declines To Alter AP Courses To Comply With Florida Law

Just the New: The College Board, the organization that oversees the administration of Advanced Placement (AP) tests and courses, has declined to alter the contents of its materials to comply with Florida law restricting the discussion of certain sexual topics in public schools.

Florida bars discussion of those matters from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The state previously limited such discussion from kindergarten through the third grade, but expanded the measure. The state had previously asked the College Board to review its materials to determine which of its courses would require adjustment to comply with the expanded state guidance.

The College Board released a letter putting its foot down on further demands from Florida to change any of its AP classes. https://t.co/CUkRkF3anY

— The Hill (@thehill) June 16, 2023

The College Board declined to charge its courses, informing the state’s Department of Education Office of Articulation that it “will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics,” according to The Hill, contending that “[d]oing 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.”

Florida educational authorities previously clashed with the board over the contents of its AP African American Studies course and its inclusion of queer and feminist materials. The course also ran afoul of the state’s restrictions on the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT).

In that matter, however, the College Board backed down and dropped “queer” language and CRT-related materials from the course.