MIAMI – Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on Monday about the reason behind a recent controversial ban on an African-American studies class.
DeSantis said the advanced placement course on Black history included a lesson about “queer theory,” which was established in the 90s to challenge heterosexuality.
“That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids,” DeSantis said.
The Florida Department of Education banned the “AP African American Studies” course, while The College Board developed it at 60 U.S. high schools to make it available to all schools in the 2024-25 school year.
“They have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisoners,” DeSantis said.
Florida’s education commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr., referred to the course as “woke indoctrination masquerading as education.” DeSantis also said the curriculum was designed to push a political agenda.
“We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think but we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis increased his influence on public education through the Stop WOKE Act and The Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Both the NAACP and the ACLU criticized the ban on the AP course.