AP Psychology removed from Palm Beach County school curriculum
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (FLV) – AP Psychology will no longer be taught in Palm Beach County schools, the district announced Friday.
“The School District of Palm Beach County has made the difficult decision to remove AP Psychology from our course offerings due to the uncertainty surrounding the viability of the AP Psychology exam and course credit in Florida,” Palm Beach County school district said in a statement to WPTV.
The district’s position comes just days after the College Board encouraged school districts across the state to discontinue the course, stating it would deny its “AP” designation because the state prohibits teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation.
“Our academic counselors and administrators will be available to guide and support affected students during this transition,” the district continued. “We remain committed to providing a high-quality education and offer a wide range of courses to foster academic and personal growth.”
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. sent a letter to school superintendents in an attempt to mitigate any anxieties regarding the College Board’s recent directive.
The commissioner explained “out of an abundance of caution” that the course could still be taught under Florida’s education guidelines.
“College board has suggested that it might withhold the ‘AP’ designation from this course in Florida, ultimately hurting Florida students,” Diaz said.
Diaz said the department believes the course can be taught “in its entirety” in a manner that “is age and developmentally appropriate.”
“I want to be clear, AP Psychology is and will remain in the course code directory making it available to Florida students,” he added.
In a statement to NBC News, the College Board responded to the Florida Department of Education’s letter to superintendents.
“While district superintendents continue to seek additional clarity from the department, we note the clear guidance that, ‘AP Psychology may be taught in its entirety,'” the statement read. “We hope now that Florida teachers will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year.”
The ongoing back-and-forth stems from the Florida Board of Education’s vote in April to prohibit instruction on gender and sexual orientation through the 12th grade, therefore, altering a portion of the AP Psychology course and its need for up to date modification to abide by current state standards.
“Any course that censors required course content cannot be labeled ‘AP’ or ‘Advanced Placement,’ and the ‘AP Psychology’ designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts,” the College Board said Thursday.
While the College Board claimed the state “effectively banned” AP Psychology, the Florida Department pushed back that notion stating the course was not banned across Florida schools.
