What Happened to AP Psychology?
College Board, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
AP Psychology’s curriculum is back in its entirety after a conflict between the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) and The College Board over “age-appropriate topics.”
After recent events surrounding new legislation attempting to prevent any form of inappropriate material and indoctrination relating to gender identity and sexual orientation, certain AP classes were rejected in whole or in part by the FLDOE. One of the most prominent classes affected was the AP Psychology class, with more than 30,000 students enrolled in it across the state.
“The course just covers different explanations regarding sexual orientation,” Psychology teacher Heather Rozelle said. “I don’t believe that there is any propaganda in trying to support one side versus another side.”
AP African American History was also rejected and subsequently modified in an attempt to limit the amount of “woke material” within the state. Along with these modifications, penalties have arisen for teachers who do decide to teach prohibited topics, including a suspension or complete revocation of their teaching licenses if parents of students decide to report it.
“I’ve never had any parents, students or administration raise any questions,” AP Psychology teacher Connor Rains said. “Never any discussions on inappropriate material.”
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Tom Williams, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Under Florida law, curriculums that cover analysis or explanation of gender orientation and sexual identity are subject to being prohibited or modified. While few raised concerns about AP Psychology’s course information, the Florida Department of Education decided that these topics should be altered for high school students in Florida.
“I think that there are certain standards and qualifications to pass the AP exam,” Rains said. “There could have been a little flexibility as it’s not the student's fault.”
“I would’ve been very sad if this course was banned because this is one of my favorite subjects to teach, and I believe it's relevant to every student − we’re talking about human behavior,” Rozelle said. “There is at least one subject in psychology they can find relevant.”
Overall, this course covers many aspects of psychology and topics that relate to the human mind. Many students consider it to be an interesting part of high school, with a high number of enrolled students as evidence.
“[We] haven’t altered anything,” Rains said. “There were discussions at the beginning about what we could take out, but in the end, they went forward and said you could teach the class in its entirety."