‘PragerU Kids’ educational videos approved for Florida classrooms

Education materials from PragerU Kids will be allowed in Florida schools, according to the Florida Department of Education on Monday.

PragerU is a political nonprofit that openly advocates for conservative political beliefs, offering a “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education,” the group’s website reads.

The website features documentaries, opinion pieces and interviews with many other conservative commentators, though it also provides educational materials for children in grades K-6.

Its “PragerU Kids program” offers online videos like “Cash Course,” “Leo & Layla’s History Adventures” and “Street Smarts” to teach younger students about topics like civics and finance.

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On Monday morning, PragerU CEO Marissa Streit announced that PragerU turnkey lessons had been approved as educational resources in Florida.

In a message to News 6, the Florida Department of Education confirmed that PragerU Kids materials matched with the state’s educational standards for civics and government classes.

While the lessons aren’t instructional materials adopted for the state’s curriculum, they can supplement the existing curriculum if district leaders allow it, FDOE officials noted.

“PragerU Kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplement materials in Florida schools at district discretion,” the message from FDOE reads.

However, some education officials have pushed back against the approval, citing PragerU’s political advocacy as a potential conflict of interest.

“I think this is to promote a political ideology and not to promote the education of our children...” said President Andrew Spar of the Florida Education Association. “I think teachers right now are concerned about the lack of materials and the types of materials that are being approved.

The example Spar gave was a video discussing the Boston Tea Party, which showed people with “plastic bottles of iced tea.”

“Well, I don’t think there was iced tea back in the Boston Tea Party, and I certainly know there was not plastic bottles back during the Boston Tea Party,” he said.

PragerU Kids also features videos on concepts like “How To Embrace Your Masculinity” and “How To Embrace Your Femininity,” though no information has been provided by FDOE about whether these videos are included in the approved materials.

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