Banning AP African American Studies: The Perilous Political Agenda of Governor Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gives a speech. Source for photo: The Hill. 

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is facing backlash as he continues to stand by his decision to ban an Advanced Placement (AP) course on African American studies for schools in Florida. In mid-January, DeSantis made his initial announcement of the ban with a letter from the state education department to the College Board. This is just the most recent effort by DeSantis to limit the teaching of race in the Florida school system, despite the objection of numerous groups. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, tweeted her opposition to the decision, stating “When we censor classes and whitewash lesson plans, we harm our students and do them a deep disservice.” Pringle and 28,000 others signed a petition urging the Florida State Board of Education to approve the course. Thousands recently gathered at the Capitol Building in Tallahassee to protest the decision as well. 

There were several aspects of the AP African American Studies course that were points of contention for DeSantis, in particular the teaching of critical race theory. Critical race theory (CRT) is defined as the “intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color.” CRT has been a significant topic of debate in the U.S. political arena in recent years, with the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 and the following resistance to BLM by former President Trump and other Republican leaders. DeSantis also cited “queer theory” as an aspect of the course that, according to him, is on the “wrong side of the line for Florida standards.” He argued that this was a violation of a previously enacted bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, which is designed to “prohibit classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner.” Specifically, it prohibits discussion for classrooms teaching students in kindergarten through third grade.

DeSantis is not the first GOP lawmaker to use their power to try and eliminate the discussion of race and racism in the classroom. Other Republican-controlled states such as Idaho, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have already made similar decisions to restrict the teaching of ideas linked to CRT. Numerous Republicans have argued that CRT is a tactic being used to bring “activist indoctrination” and liberal ideology into the classroom. Teachers unions, social studies organizations, and educators worry that these efforts are an attempt to whitewash American history, a view commonly shared by Democrats. Efforts like the 1619 Project that aim to address race more fully as a part of U.S. history have been described as “ideological poison” by Republicans. 

Education has increasingly become a partisan issue and the divide is only growing deeper, which will ultimately impact the public perception of the history of the United States for generations to come. If we are not allowed to learn from the past in our classrooms, how will we ever be equipped to build a better future for our country?