College Board to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: We're not changing our AP courses to meet new education laws

ORLANDO, Fla. - The U.S. College Board will not make changes to its AP courses to remove topics discussing sexual orientation or gender identity to meet new education requirements signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Florida Department of Education Office of Articulation reportedly requested the College Board "audit and potentially modify" its recommended curriculum for AP Psychology, the College Board said in a news release.

The College Board said it would not modify its AP Psych course – and that it would not make changes to any of its AP courses, potentially putting the teaching of some AP courses in Florida in jeopardy.

"(College Board) will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics," the College Board said in a statement.

"Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for careers in the discipline."

DeSantis – who recently confirmed he's running for president in 2024 – has not immediately responded to the College Board's statement. The Florida Department of Education has also not immediately responded. FOX 35 has reached out for comment.

It is at least the second request Florida has made to the College Board to change its curriculum to meet the state's new education requirements. Earlier this year, the state blocked parts of the AP African Studies course claiming it was historical inaccurate and violated state law, forcing the College Board to release a new framework for the course. 

New education requirements in Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which prevents the discussion and teaching of sexual identity and sexual orientation in public schools.

The law initially restricted those topics in elementary schools, but was later expanded to middle and high schools, prompting critics to name it the "Don't Say Gay" law. It's the same law that has sparked an ongoing political feud between Gov. DeSantis and Disney CEO Bob Iger.

AP Psychology might be in jeopardy

While teachers and college professors scored AP exams this past spring, several Florida school district leaders specifically asked how the College Board would navigate the state's new laws when it comes to the AP Psychology course and exam, the press release said. 

"The learning objective within AP Psychology that covers gender and sexual orientation has specifically been raised by some Florida districts relative to these recent regulations," the College Board said. "That learning objective must remain a required topic, just as it has been in Florida for many years. As with all AP courses, required topics must be included for a course to be designated as AP."

The American Psychological Association said instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity are "foundational" for any college-level psychology courses. 

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• DeSantis ratchets up fight with College Board over African American studies

Could AP Psychology courses be banned in Florida?

Unclear at this point.

The College Board also said it's unsure if the state of Florida will ban AP Psychology. 

"To AP teachers in Florida, we are heartbroken by the possibility of Florida students being denied the opportunity to participate in this or any AP course. To AP teachers everywhere, please know we will not modify any of the 40 AP courses—from art to history to science—in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness," the College Board said. 

The College Board said in its statement that AP courses are optional for students – and that students and parents have the choice to review any of its course material.

"We respect students’ ability to learn college-level material and we respect the right of families to decide what they want their students to learn," the College Board said. "At stake is denying the choices of those families."

This isn't the first Florida vs. College Board ‘feud’

In its statement regarding Florida's plea to modify AP courses based on new laws about sexual orientation and gender identity, the College Board also mentioned its feud with DeSantis amid its African American studies course. 

"We have learned from our mistakes in the recent rollout of AP African American Studies and know that we must be clear from the outset where we stand," they said. 

The feud started a few months ago after Florida education officials objected to several topics proposed for inclusion in an AP African American studies course in the works. The state said it wouldn't offer the course if topics like "Black queer studies" and the "reparations movement" were included. 

The College Board then released a new framework for the course, but released a statement admitting "regret" for not pushing back earlier.

"We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration’s subsequent comments, that African American Studies ‘lacks educational value.’ Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field," the statement said.

DeSantis then called out the College Board in a news conference, saying it would "look to re-evaluate" its relationship with the organization.

"This College Board, like, nobody elected them to anything. They’re just kind of there, and they’re providing service. So you can either utilize those services or not. And they’ve provided these AP (Advanced Placement) courses for a long time. But, you know, there are probably some other vendors who may be able to do that job as good, or maybe even a lot better," DeSantis said during a news conference in Naples in February.