According to reports, high school students in Florida can no longer take AP Psychology after the College Board announced it wouldn’t sign off on an “assurance document” requested by Florida’s authorities to ensure the AP courses would meet the state’s laws and rules.
Public school teachers are prohibited from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in class following a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March of 2022.
Initially, the law covered a ban through third grade, but following a request from DeSantis the Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction in all grades related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
The College Board refused to sign Florida’s assurance document because it would need to abandon topics of sexual orientation and gender identity in their college-level psychology class.
Districts have been advised by the College Board to not make it part of the 2023-24 school year.
Last year, according to reports, 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology.
While state officials have continued to list the course in Florida’s Course Code Directory, and an education department spokeswoman said the course isn’t banned, the College Board said offering the course would either require breaking state law or making the class incomplete — if topics of sexual orientation and gender identity are altered or removed.
