Ari Blaff writes for National Review Online about the latest salvo from Florida’s governor.
During a press conference Monday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis teased that the state might “reevaluate” its relationship with the College Board, a nonprofit organization responsible for developing standardized tests such as the SAT and advanced placement (AP) courses.
“And I think the legislature is going to look to reevaluate kind of how Florida’s doing that. Of course, our universities can or can’t accept College Board classes for credit, maybe they’ll do others,” Governor DeSantis told reporters during the press conference, held in Naples, Fl.
DeSantis’s comments come amid the ongoing battle between Florida and the College Board over its new AP African-American-studies seminar.
DeSantis criticized content in the proposed course for its inclusion of critical race theory (CRT) as well as one-sided views of topics such as Black Lives Matter and reparations.
“We are going to eliminate all DEI and CRT bureaucracies in the state of Florida. No funding, and that will wither on the vine,” Governor DeSantis asserted during a press conference earlier this month, following the announcement that the College Board would revise the course’s framework.
The new course framework has omitted the one-sided presentation of queer studies and references to police brutality.
Critics have condemned Governor DeSantis’s curriculum changes, saying they impede academic freedom and a true view of American history.
Although the College Board insists that they did not make the course changes as a result of DeSantis’s accusations, the organization recently fired back at Florida and the state’s Department of Education (FDOE).
“We have made the mistake of treating FDOE with the courtesy we always accord to an education agency, but they have instead exploited this courtesy for their political agenda,” the College Board said in statement Saturday.
DeSantis upped the ante in the tense standoff Monday by questioning the monopoly the College Board has historically held over educational credentials in America.
