Schools are exploring alternatives for AP Psychology. | Pixabay, via WMFE
Published on August 7, 2023 at 6:14 pm
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Some Florida high schools might still offer an Advanced Placement psychology course this school year, but Duval and Clay Schools won’t be among them.
Duval said Monday that it is canceling the class, a reflection of uncertainty statewide about whether the course violates a state policy prohibiting instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. Clay followed on Tuesday.
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Nassau and St. Johns County schools both said they will stick with the class.
The hazy situation arose after the College Board, which develops AP courses, said Thursday that Florida had “effectively banned” AP Psychology by prohibiting content about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Under Florida regulations, those topics are not allowed unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take.
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The College Board said it would not drop what it considered an essential portion of the class that asks students to describe how sex and gender influence a person’s development.
The state disputed the suggestion that Florida had banned the class. On Friday, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. wrote to school superintendents saying the state believed the course could be taught “in its entirety” in a way that was age-appropriate. Reports about his letter did not specify how the course could be taught without violating state rules.
Either way, the situation left school districts scrambling to decide whether to offer the class, with less than a week before the school year begins.
Brevard Schools, for example, tweeted Friday that it would not offer the class because it might put teachers in the position of violating the standards and leave students without course credit. Brevard said each high school was exploring alternatives such as courses offered by other providers.
Duval and Clay officials said the same.
“Instead of AP Psychology, students will be enrolled into a different accelerated college credit course such as the AP Seminar course, the Cambridge AICE Psychology course, or other options,” Duval Schools said in a statement. “High school personnel are reaching out personally to all families of students impacted to modify student schedules in time for the first day of school on Monday.”
The district said the alternative was the safest route given uncertainty on the state level.
“If AP Psychology is taught in its entirety, which is required for students to sit for the exam, it could place teachers and school leaders in uncertain waters with potential charges under the law,” the district said. “Since school hasn’t begun and we have these other options, it is in everyone’s best interest to transition to other accelerated college credit courses available to us.”
About 1,100 students are enrolled in the AP Psychology course at 10 district schools and one charter school in Duval County, a spokeswoman said. Six high schools in Clay County traditionally offer AP Psychology. More than 28,000 Florida students took the AP Psychology course last school year, according to the College Board.
Like Duval, Clay County said students will have the option of taking a college-level psychology class through the AICE program.
“Our goal in Clay County District Schools is to ensure that our students are receiving a world-class education and awarded the proper credits for the courses they are enrolled in throughout their academic career,” the district said in a statement. “Our decisions as a district will always be made in the best interest of our students.”
The College Board also clashed with DeSantis and state education officials in January. At that time, the state objected to content proposed for an AP course in African American studies. The College Board relented but later said it regretted the decision.
