Florida DOE adopts textbooks previously denied over ‘information that was not aligned with Florida Law’
Jack Birle
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The Florida Department of Education announced it had approved more than 60% of submitted social studies instructional materials for use in the state.
The figure is remarkably higher than the 19% of submitted materials that were approved by the state a month ago. The state says it has since worked with publishers to revise materials to meet Florida standards.
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“Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ and the state’s consistent adherence to high quality, rigorous and factual content, Florida continually earns praise as a leader in education, including the recent number one ranking by U.S. News & World Report,” State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said in a statement.
“To uphold our exceptional standards, we must ensure our students and teachers have the highest quality materials available — materials that focus on historical facts and are free from inaccuracies or ideological rhetoric,” he said.
The state says 101 books were submitted, and only 19 were adopted as of April 6. After more than a month, 47 more books were approved, leading to a total of 66 approved books by Monday.
The state provided examples of rejected materials and what they were replaced by in order to comply with state guidelines.
The first example provided by the state included a paragraph in a K-5 book saying how parents should discuss the national anthem and specifically “why some citizens are choosing to ‘Take a Knee’ to protest police brutality and racism.” The paragraph, which was included in a page about parents discussing symbols of the United States and Florida, was removed in the revision.
Another example was of what the state called an “inaccurate description of socialism” for material intended to be used in grades 6-8. The material described socialism as “keeping things nice and even and without unnecessary waste.” It also said that socialist societies “promote greater equality among people.” In the revised materials, the positive descriptions of socialism are removed.
Other examples include material intended for grades 6-8. It discussed “what social justice issues are included in the Hebrew Bible.” Those lines were replaced with asking what “key principles” are in the Hebrew Bible.
Material intended for grades 9-12 calling governments in China, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union “so-called communist governments” were also amended. In the revision, “so-called” is removed.
The final example listed by the state included a section discussing “New Calls for Social Justice.” The section described the founding of the Black Lives Matter group as a movement that “called for an end to systemic racism and white supremacy” and included references to the death of George Floyd in 2020. The state says this entire section was removed in the approved revision.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has made education one of his chief policies in his first term, and that narrative is continuing into his second term.
DeSantis has specifically been tough on curricula, including initially rejecting an Advanced Placement course on African American Studies due to the inclusion of “ideological material.”