Months after attacking a new African American studies course for high school students, Florida state officials working under Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, are putting the Advanced Placement program through another round of unusual scrutiny. This time the target appears to be AP psychology lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The College Board, which oversees AP nationwide, told Florida officials Thursday it stands by a sequence in the psychology course that covers gender and sexual orientation in a unit on developmental psychology.

“Please know that we will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics,” the organization said in a letter to the state education department. “Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for success in the discipline.”

The letter responded to a recent inquiry the Florida department made after the state enacted new restrictions on teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. The department told the College Board on May 19 that it is developing an “assurance document” for the College Board to indicate that its courses comply with Florida’s new rules. It also said state officials “implore” the organization to review its courses and identify those that might need to be modified.

“Some courses might contain content or topics prohibited by State Board of Education rule and Florida law,” the department’s letter said.

“[The] College Board is responsible for ensuring that their submitted materials comply with Florida law,” said Cassie Palelis, press secretary for the Florida Department of Education.

The back and forth suggested that conflict between the DeSantis administration and the College Board is intensifying.

In January, Florida officials rejected an initial version of AP African American studies, declaring that it “lacks educational value.” DeSantis, who is now a presidential candidate, accused the course architects of promoting “a political agenda” and criticized references in an early draft of the curriculum to Black queer studies and “intersectionality,” a concept that helps explain overlapping forms of discrimination that affect Black women and others.

In February, the College Board publicly released a plan for that course that omitted or scaled back some concepts and terms that had drawn objection from conservative commentators. The adjective “systemic” disappeared from the African American studies plan, even though many academics and civil rights advocates say the term is essential for understanding racism, oppression and discrimination. Most uses of “intersectionality” were also cut.

Facing uproar from the left and the right, the College Board conceded missteps and announced in April that it would revise the African American studies course again to ensure students “have access to the full breadth and beauty of this discipline.”

Now the College Board is taking a harder line as it defends the psychology course.

“We don’t know if the state of Florida will ban this course,” the organization said in a statement Thursday to the AP community. “To AP teachers in Florida, we are heartbroken by the possibility of Florida students being denied the opportunity to participate in this or any other AP course. To AP teachers everywhere, please know we will not modify any of the 40 AP courses – from art to history to science – in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness.”

“We have learned from our mistakes in the recent rollout of AP African American Studies and know that we must be clear from the outset where we stand,” the College Board said.

The College Board said some Florida school district leaders have asked how they should “navigate” state laws “relative to AP Psychology.” The organization emphasized that enrolling in AP is a choice, not a requirement. “Families can review AP course content and make informed decisions about whether they want their students to participate,” the College Board said.

In February, DeSantis raised the possibility that Florida could withdraw support for AP classes and expand other options to give high school students opportunities for college credit.

The AP psychology course is popular in Florida and nationwide. College Board data show that more than 28,600 Florida students took the course exam in May. In 2022, about 292,000 students nationwide took the exam.

Students who earn a 3 or better on AP exams, which are scored up to a 5, often qualify for college credit.

The American Council on Education reviews AP and other programs that seek to provide college credit. The AP psychology course is among those the council has deemed worthy of credit. But that recommendation could be dropped if the course were altered.

“It strains credulity to believe that our reviewers would certify for college credit a psychology course that didn’t include gender identity,” Ted Mitchell, president of the council, said Thursday.

 

The Washington Post’s Lori Rozsa in West Palm Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.

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