(The Hill) — The College Board announced on Thursday that Florida has banned AP Psychology from its schools over lessons pertaining to gender identity and sexual orientation.
The course was nixed after Florida passed a law earlier this year stating sexual orientation and gender identity could not be taught in K-12 schools.
The AP Psychology curriculum asks students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development,” which College Board noted has been in the class for 30 years.
Florida asked College Board to go over any classes it offers and omit lessons that conflict with its new law, but the company has refused.
“We have heard from teachers across Florida who are heartbroken that they are being forced to drop AP and instead teach alternatives that have been deemed legal because the courses exclude these topics,” College Board said in its statement.
The Hill has reached out to Florida’s Department of Education for comment.
College Board said Florida school districts were told they could teach AP Psychology if it excluded the lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, but the company says it would no longer give credit for the course.
“As we shared in June, we cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness. Our policy remains unchanged. Any course that censors required course content cannot be labeled ‘AP’ or ‘Advanced Placement,’ and the ‘AP Psychology’ designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts,” College Board said.
This is the latest escalation in the fight between College Board and Florida, which began back in January when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) attacked AP African American Studies, which has since been rejected by the state.