Florida has removed all social justice content regarding Black Lives Matter and George Floyd from social studies textbooks.
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The Florida Department of Education said they have removed ‘unsolicited’ topics and ‘inaccuracies’ from textbooks. According to WPTV, several paragraphs in a potential middle school textbook under the heading “New Calls For Social Justice” discussed the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd. However, the state’s education department flagged the content as an “unsolicited topic.”
Comm @SenMannyDiazJr has released FL’s initial adoption list for K-12 social studies instructional materials. The approved list includes state standards-aligned social studies curriculum for every grade. To date, 65.4% of materials have been approved. https://t.co/Ul6z3ulleB pic.twitter.com/UI8Zc9O2n7
— Florida Department of Education (@EducationFL) May 9, 2023
Other topics, such as socialism and a reference to taking a knee during the national anthem, were also removed from an elementary school textbook. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said the department wanted to provide materials that “focus on historical facts and are free from inaccuracies or ideological rhetoric.”
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“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,”
The state department said when materials were submitted, 19 percent of the material was approved, and worked with publishers to have the content removed to meet a higher approval rating.
“The Department will continue to work with publishers in an effort to include as many textbooks on the state adoption list as possible. Publishers have the ability to appeal any non-adoption decision. Publishers may submit revisions that subject matter experts will review to ensure that the final materials ultimately meet Florida’s bid specifications and align to Florida’s state academic standards.”
Additionally, they are involved in a dispute with the College Board after officials rejected its African American studies AP program for including coursework on queer theory and intersectionality, as reported by Politico.
The decision has sparked criticism as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration continues to make initiatives to revise educational materials and ban books that may reflect critical race theory.
FL has 5 of the top 10 largest districts in the country.
If you think these requests for revision to textbook publishers are strictly a FL problem, you aren’t paying attention.
Look at the revisions they are celebrating & ask yourself if you trust FL to write our history. https://t.co/6fIFClrmBI
— Florida Freedom to Read Project (@FLFreedomRead) May 9, 2023
Florida has to be bending its educational budget’s back so hard to “police” curriculum in the state, it’s bound to snap after they end up paying more to reverse the tide after college enrollment drops.
— Jerry Stinger
(@jerrythestinger) May 10, 2023
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