Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida who won another term in last year’s midterm elections, is seeing his opposition grow.
Recently, he suggested Florida could pare back its usage of Advanced Placement (AP) courses for students in high school, in which those finishing the individual courses of study can earn college credit before actually enrolling in such an institution. The courses are handled by an organization called the College Board, which is also behind SAT tests and that has been embroiled in a stand-off with the DeSantis administration over a course in what was termed African American Studies. After a high-profile rejection of the course as it stood, the DeSantis administration thanked the College Board for eliminating 19 topics — most of which were actually still included after course updates and none of which the DeSantis team specifically raised and asked for course administrators to strike, the College Board frustratedly said.
A report in The Washington Post notes that the availability of AP courses in Florida, which are widely accepted, helps lower costs for college, since college credit earned directly from a post-secondary institution can cost, well, a lot. The Post had a series of quotes from concerned parents and students in Florida. “Parents in this state need to be paying attention to this threat,” Katie Hathaway, who the Post identified as from Jacksonville and with a son going into high school next year, said about the unfolding situation. “I want him and every student in the state to have access to these valuable courses with college credit opportunities.”
A woman from the Florida town Clearwater named Colleen Hamilton also shared her experiences. Hamilton noted the financial help to her family from a daughter of hers taking a series of AP courses before actually entering college. “It terrifies me that DeSantis is threatening to eliminate AP classes after seeing how much it benefited my daughter’s education,” Hamilton said. “It is truly horrifying to be a resident of Florida right now.”
DeSantis’s commitment to the so-called culture war extends to other areas of education, including with his infamous bill nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents. The measure sharply limits discussions in class of sexual orientation and gender identity. How are kids whose routine experiences of self-discovery might lead them to understand they’re not straight or cis supposed to react to the state banning or nearly banning even talking about that, at least in certain contexts? The Post also spoke with Stephana Ferrell, who is helping lead an organization challenging book bans and is a mother in Orange County, which includes Orlando. “My number one concern as a parent right now is that my kids will be cut off from additional information about the world,” she told the Post. “Will they be able to learn beyond what our state is going to allow them to know?”
Elsewhere, there were also recently protests in Tallahassee, the state’s capital, against DeSantis’s treatment of the African American studies course. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton was among those who attended.
I think every kid, in every zip code, in every state should have access to every education opportunity possible.
I guess, for some, that isn’t the consensus view. https://t.co/d1FAeWwKv1
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 17, 2023
