College Board pushes back on Florida demands for AP course changes

Higher Ed Dive

Naaz Modan

June 21, 2023

The College Board is refusing to change its long-standing Advanced Placement Psychology course after the Florida Department of Education requested that the course and all others offered by the organization be audited and modified to fit state laws restricting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In a May 19 letter to the College Board obtained by K-12 Dive, the state department’s Office of Articulation asked the organization to “immediately conduct a thorough review of all College Board courses” and inform the state “whether these courses need modification to ensure compliance” by June 16.

“Some courses may contain content or topics prohibited by State Board of Education rule and Florida law,” said the letter, which cited the state’s “Parental Rights in Education” law signed March 27 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which regulates instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

In its response last week, the College Board said it doesn’t plan to modify any of its 40 AP courses — including AP Psychology — in response to efforts spreading in various states to regulate LGBTQ+ and race-related content.

“We don’t know if the state of Florida will ban this course,” the organization said in a statement. “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.”

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