SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – AP Psychology will be offered in full to students of Seminole County Public Schools for the 2023-24 school year, according to Superintendent Serita Beamon.
“We are committed to continuing our legacy of being a unified school district that listens and keeps students first in our decision-making,” Beamon said in a statement.
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The course had been in limbo for the better part of two weeks, up in the air as Florida superintendents juggled with vaguely-worded state guidance over whether the course could be offered in any way adherent to a state law prohibiting lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
In a news release shared Tuesday, Beamon writes that the full course — including learning target 6.P, “Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development,” contained within Topic 6.7 — can be taught consistent with the law, citing a letter from Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. that she said came down Aug. 9 and stated as much.
“In light of this new information, I have met with all SCPS high school principals, all supervising assistant principals, all AP Psychology teachers and relevant district staff. I have also networked with Central Florida and other Florida Superintendents. SCPS teachers agree that a common lesson plan for Topic 6.7 will be used to ensure compliance with Florida Law and College Board Requirements,” Beamon said. “I have made the decision to offer our students the AP Psychology course for the 2023-24 school year. College Board has confirmed that they will continue to offer the AP Psychology exam to students in Florida.”
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On Aug. 3, one week before the start of school in most Florida districts, College Board issued a statement claiming it had learned the Florida Department of Education “effectively banned” AP Psychology in the state by telling superintendents the course’s content on sexual orientation and gender identity was in violation of the “Parental Rights in Education” law that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in March 2022 and expanded to high school students in May of this year.
More questions arose the next day, Aug. 4, with a new letter from Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., who then told superintendents that the course could be taught “in its entirety,” but only in a way “that is age and developmentally appropriate.”
The term “age appropriate” has come under scrutiny before, such as in the discussion over the “Parental Rights in Education” law itself. Regarding AP course content, which typically involves grades 10-12, Florida school districts were subject to that same discussion upon the law’s expansion from K-3 to high school students, leaving superintendents wondering what “age appropriate” meant in terms of what could or couldn’t be taught after the third grade.
Seminole’s school district had since offered an alternative course in AP Psychology’s place, AP Seminar, asking now that students interested in AP Psychology choose which course they would rather take, as well as how they would prefer to work it into their schedules.
Students are asked to choose one of the following four options by noon on Thursday.:
- Option 1 - Drop AP Seminar with psychology principles and add AP Psychology.
- Option 2 - Drop AP Seminar with psychology principles and add a different course (a school counselor will contact your student to discuss available courses).
- Option 3 - Drop an elective course and add AP Psychology (indicate an elective to be dropped).
- Option 4 - Keep currently enrolled courses (students enrolled in AP Seminar with psychology principles will be moved to the traditional AP Seminar course.)
Read the news release below.
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