Florida bans teaching gender identity, sexual orientation in AP Psychology

1 year ago 444

Instruction on these topics violates state law, according to College Board

The Florida Department of Education has banned instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation from the College Board’s AP Psychology curriculum, according to the College Board on Thursday.

College Board officials wrote that the state will still allow districts to teach AP Psychology, but teachers won’t be allowed to discuss gender identity or sexual orientation as part of the coursework.

After House Bill 1069 was signed into law in May, the Florida Department of Education asked the College Board to review its courses to make sure they adhered to the new state standards.

HB-1069 prevents concepts like “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” to be taught to students in school in grades pre-K - 8 unless the lessons deal with health or a reproductive health course.

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It also restricts classes teaching those topics in grades 9 - 12 if the instruction isn’t “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

In response, the College Board announced back in June that it would refuse to take those subjects out of the curriculum to match the law.

The terms have come under fire in Florida schools as parents expressed concern about potentially inappropriate content being taught to children.

According to the American Psychological Association, “sexual orientation” means “an often enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attractions to men, women or both. It also refers to an individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions.”

Meanwhile, the APA defines “gender identity” as “a person’s deep felt, inherent sense of being a girl, woman, or female; a boy, a man, or male; a blend of male or female; (or another) gender.” The term has become divisive in recent years, as some people believe that gender is wholly separate from sex, and others believe that gender is instead predicated on sex.

The American Psychological Association recently stated that any course that doesn’t teach about these topics would not be considered for college credit.

In a statement on June 15, College Board officials said they would not modify any of their 40 courses, including art, history and psychology, to comply with Florida’s standards.

News 6 has reached out to the Florida Department of Education for comment and is awaiting a response.

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