College Board: Florida schools can’t teach AP psych if sexual orientation, gender identity censored

ORLANDO, Fla. — College Board said Thursday that it learned that the Florida Department of Education instructed Florida superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law.

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The organization said the decision “effectively banned AP Psychology” in Florida.

College Board: Florida schools can’t teach AP psych if sexual orientation, gender identity censored College Board said Thursday that it learned that FDOE instructed Florida superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal. (WFTV)

The state has previously said that school districts are free to teach Advanced Placement Psychology as long as it excludes lessons on those two topics.

Read: College Board won’t alter AP courses for Florida’s law banning lessons on gender, sexual orientation

College Board said it learned of the development from someone participating in a private conference call between state education officials and superintendents, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The organization said that since it launched the course more than 30 years ago, it has asked students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.”

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College Board said in June that it “cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement and career readiness.”

More than 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology last school year, the organization said.

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Florida Department of Education

An FDOE spokeswoman provided Channel 9 with the following statement:

“Just one week before school starts, the College Board is attempting to force school districts to prevent students from taking the AP Psychology Course. The Department didn’t ‘ban’ the course. The course remains listed in Florida’s Course Code Directory for the 2023-24 school year. We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly. The other advanced course providers (including the International Baccalaureate program) had no issue providing the college credit psychology course.”

Seminole County Public Schools

“Our team has been working diligently to identify a solution that allows our students to pursue their educational interests and college credit while ensuring compliance with State Law. We believe this solution provides both outcomes, and I’m proud of the tireless dedication of our leadership, school administration, and educators for ensuring our students have these kinds of opportunities.” - Superintendent Serita Beamon

In order to comply with Florida Law and College Board requirements, SCPS has developed a plan that allows students to pursue their interest in psychology, while still having the opportunity to potentially earn college credit.

Student schedules will reflect the replacement of AP Psychology with AP Seminar. This AP Seminar class will emphasize the study of psychology. Students will then take the AP Seminar exam and upon achieving a passing score, may earn college credit. College Board defines AP Seminar as:

“a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Students learn to investigate a problem or issue, analyze arguments, compare different perspectives, synthesize information from multiple sources, and work alone and in a group to communicate their ideas.”

Throughout this course, teachers will prepare lessons and encourage research in psychology in preparation for the AP Seminar exam.

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