SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A new letter from the Florida Department of Education is causing new questions for school districts over whether they can teach Advanced Placement Psychology this year.
Late Friday afternoon, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz sent superintendents across the state a new letter, telling them they believe the course can still be taught “in its entirety,” provided it can be taught in a manner “that is age and developmentally appropriate.”
The letter comes after notice from the state this week that the AP Psychology course’s gender and human sexuality unit needed to be excluded from the course because it violates state law.
Under an expanded Florida law, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity are banned unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. In the spring the state asked the College Board and other providers of college-level courses to review their offerings for potential violations.
In response to the decision this week, the College Board announced Florida schools should not offer AP Psychology courses over the state’s requirement to exclude its gender and human sexuality unit.
The College Board, which oversees advanced placement courses, as well as the SAT, released a statement Friday on the new letter from Diaz:
Today’s statement from the Florida Department of Education represents new guidance on AP Psychology. While state superintendents continue to seek additional clarity from the department, we note the clear guidance that, “AP Psychology may be taught in its entirety.”
We hope now that Florida teachers will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year.
The College Board
News 6 is asking the Department of Education to clarify whether teaching the course in its entirety includes content on gender and sexual orientation.
The full letter from the Florida Department of Education can be read in the media viewer below:
Letter on Advanced Placement Psychology by Anthony Talcott on Scribd
Seminole County offers alternative course
Seminole County Public Schools said it is offering its students an alternative course that would fulfill college credit requirements and allow “students to pursue their interest in psychology.”
Seminole County Public Schools said on Thursday it developed a plan to comply with state law.
The course, AP Seminar, will replace student schedules that currently have AP Psychology listed. The school district says the 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.”
SCPS spokeswoman Katherine Crnkovich described the course that “looks at a collegiate level research, collaboration, critical thinking, and analysis, and they choose topics of emphasis for them. So, for this case those that were in AP Psychology, they’re going to still be able to pursue general concepts of psychology, but it won’t be the same course.”
“The most important thing for us is to consider, you know, what we can do for our students to still provide them opportunities for advanced learning and potential to earn that college credit and help them really discover the topics that they have interest around while still being in alignment with the law,” Crnkovich said.
The district sent out a letter to families with students enrolled in AP Psychology. There were over 1,000 students planning to take the course.
Dear AP Psychology Families,
Your child is registered to take Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology for the 2023-2024 school year. In order to comply with Florida Law and College Board requirements, SCPS has developed a plan that allows your student to pursue their interest in psychology, while still having the opportunity to potentially earn college credit.
On your child’s schedule, AP Psychology will be replaced with AP Seminar. Your student’s AP Seminar class will emphasize the study of psychology. Your student 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 as they prepare for the AP Seminar exam.
We are excited to offer your child this unique opportunity. As previously shared, your child will be automatically enrolled in AP Seminar. If your student has already taken AP Seminar or if you would like to explore other options or have questions, please click HERE and a staff member at your school will contact you.
Thank you for your understanding!
Sincerely,
Serita D. Beamon
The College Board said it would not modify its psychology course, which asks students to describe how sex and gender influence a person’s development. It said gender and sexual orientation have been part of its psychology course since it launched 30 years ago. The board released a statement Thursday on the course that said in part:
We are sad to have learned that today the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law. The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics.
The AP course asks students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.” This element of the framework is not new: gender and sexual orientation have been part of AP Psychology since the course launched 30 years ago.
As we shared in June, we cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness. Our policy remains unchanged. Any course that censors required course content cannot be labeled “AP” or “Advanced Placement,” and the “AP Psychology” designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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