From book bans to changing classes and educational requirements, what children are learning in the classroom will be different this year.
“I think this is going to be a very strange year, simply because people do not know what’s happening,” University of Central Florida history professor and News 6 Political Analyst Jim Clark said. “Teachers are unsure. Administrators are unsure. You have one district doing one thing and another district doing another thing and I think there are just so many red flags flying that it’s going to be a strange year.”
One point of difference this year focuses on AP Psychology. There was a battle over the coursework and any potential focus on gender identity which encouraged some schools to drop it right before classes began.
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Matt Austin shared on Florida’s Fourth Estate that his daughter was supposed to be in the class and was stuck in the middle wondering what the school district would decide.
“My kid has been like, ‘Oh, I’m in the class, I’m out of the class, I’m in the class, I’m out, what am I gonna do?’ and this is after the schedules have already come out,” Austin said.
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This isn’t the first class caught in the middle of the political debate over education.
“Earlier we had the controversy over the AP History exam, which is still going on, so for students that want to take these, this is a troubled time,” Clark said.
In addition to focusing on coursework, lawmakers are also working to rid school libraries of books that “depict or describe sexual conduct.”
That means librarians must now inspect over a million books.
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Ginger Gadsden pointed out it’s not just Florida politicians focused on the classroom.
“There are a number of states, led by Iowa, that see Florida as the role model, and the governor there is an admirer of Gov. Desantis and has been copying much of what goes on,” Clark said,
To learn more about the political impact on Florida’s schools check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download it from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+.