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AP Psychology Effectively Banned in Florida Over Lesson on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
"Sadly, it's all part of the DeSantis playbook of eroding rights, censoring those he disagrees with, and undermining access to knowledge," said one critic.
Aug 03, 2023
The Republican-controlled Florida Board of Education on Thursday effectively banned Advanced Placement Psychology by notifying school district superintendents that teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity—key subjects in college-level psychology curricula—is prohibited under the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay or Trans" law.
That means class schedules for the fall semester—which begins next week in most Florida school districts—are in limbo for thousands of students. Last year, around 28,000 pupils in more than 500 Florida high schools took AP Psychology.
"What a terrible decision that is 100% politically motivated."
In a statement, the College Board—the New York-based national body that approves AP courses and runs SAT testing—called sexual orientation and gender identity "essential topics" in psychology.
"The AP course asks students to 'describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development,'" the board explained. "This element of the framework is not new: gender and sexual orientation have been part of AP Psychology since the course launched 30 years ago."
"We cannot modify AP Psychology in response to regulations that would censor college-level standards for credit, placement, and career readiness," the body continued. "Our policy remains unchanged. 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."
"To be clear, any AP Psychology course taught in Florida will violate either Florida law or college requirements," the College Board added. "Therefore, we advise Florida districts not to offer AP Psychology until Florida reverses their decision and allows parents and students to choose to take the full course."
As originally signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022, H.B. 1557—dubbed the "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill by critics—"prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity" in grades K-3 or at any level "that is not age-appropriate." In May, DeSantis expanded the legislation to include all grades K-12.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, condemned the "slippery slope of government censorship and bans" in DeSantis' Florida.
"Sadly, it's all part of the DeSantis playbook of eroding rights, censoring those he disagrees with, and undermining access to knowledge," Weingarten said of the 2024 GOP presidential candidate, whose campaign has been accused of embracing homophobia.
"Just this year, countless educators have been forced to remove or cover up their classroom libraries under threat of sanctions and jail, countless students have lost out because the governor ended AP African American Studies, and now this assault on AP Psychology," she added. "It's an unconscionable but far-from-surprising move from an extremist and increasingly unpopular leader who is fast becoming both a national pariah and a global embarrassment."
At the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, president Kelley Robinson said that "psychology is centered around people—all people."
"Erasing us from the curriculum ignores our existence, sets back Florida students who want to pursue psychology in higher education, and disrupts pathways for future mental health professionals to provide comprehensive, culturally competent mental healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community," she continued.
"College Board's AP Psychology curriculum is science-driven and endorsed by both educators and experts," Robinson noted. "Educational systems that reject the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people from their psychology courses are failing in their commitment to students."
"As anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers pass discriminatory legislation and spread dangerous misinformation, we're continuing to see disturbing attempts to rewrite history and censor education, misaligned with the realities of our country," she added.
Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-42) said in a statement, "As someone who graduated from Florida public schools with college credit via AP classes, I know how powerful and effective these classes are and I am sick to my stomach to see what Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party are doing in our state."
Florida Department of Education Spokesperson Cassie Pelelis accused the College Board of "attempting to force school districts to prevent students from taking the AP Psychology."
"The department didn't 'ban' the course," she insisted. "The course remains listed in Florida's Course Code Directory for the 2023-24 school year. We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly."
During the previous academic year, educators, students, parents, and Democratic lawmakers reacted angrily after the DeSantis administration rejected a new high school AP African American Studies course—without even seeing its syllabus—claiming it violated the state's ban on "woke" education and lacked "educational value."
In March, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction against the Stop WOKE Act.
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In Dead of Night, Ron DeSantis Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban Into Law
"Women have been stripped of their rights and access to lifesaving healthcare," warned one Democratic lawmaker. "Women will undoubtedly die. This is not freedom."
Apr 13, 2023
Reproductive rights defenders decried the signing of a near-total abortion ban in Florida overnight by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate for the GOP in 2024.
Republican state lawmakers, who control both legislative chambers in the state, sent S.B. 300 to DeSantis' desk in order to bar the medical procedure after just six weeks of pregnancy, before most people know they are pregnant. Wasting no time, the governor signed the bill just before midnight.
\u201cDeSantis just signed one of the nation's most EXTREME abortion bans into law -- behind closed doors, and near midnight. \n\nHe knows how DEEPLY unpopular this law is and he doesn't want YOU to know about it. Please spread the word & help make sure others know too.\n\nStatement below:\u201d— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28 (@Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28) 1681442985
The bill passed in the Florida House of Representatives by a 70-40 vote on Thursday afternoon, largely along party lines, after approval by the GOP-controlled Senate earlier this month. While the law will not go into effect immediately, the legislation is designed to replace an existing 2022 Florida law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with a six-week ban containing exceptions for victims of rape, incest, or human trafficking; in cases of fatal fetal abnormalities; or to save the pregnant person's life.
Jezebel reports Republican state lawmakers rejected an amendment to include an exception for a life-threatening condition that recently caused a woman to miscarry in a hair salon and nearly bleed to death. The woman, Anya Cook, is Black; this week is Black Maternal Health Week.
DeSantis, an ally of former President Donald Trump widely expected to seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, promised he would sign the six-week ban into law.
"I've said…we're for pro-life," the governor said last month. "I urged the legislature to work, produce good stuff, and we will sign."
S.B. 300 is written so that it will become law if the Florida Supreme Court affirms the 15-week ban. The court is expected to hear a case involving that ban in the coming months.
\u201cHours after it passed the House floor, DeSantis just signed the 6 week abortion ban into law\n\nTO BE CLEAR: Abortion remains legal until 15 weeks\n\nThis ban does NOT go into effect until the FL Supreme Court makes a ruling to undermine our right to privacy in the FL constituent.\u201d— Florida Planned Parenthood Action (@Florida Planned Parenthood Action) 1681441716
Responding to Thursday's vote in the state House, Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book (D-32) tweeted that "Florida Republicans have now passed a dangerous abortion ban through both the House and the Senate—choosing to disregard the pleas of women and the doctors entrusted with their care, including two mothers in my own district forced to the brink of death following miscarriages due to the state's current restrictive laws."
"Now, things will get much worse," she added. "Women have been stripped of their rights and access to lifesaving healthcare. Women will undoubtedly die. This is not freedom."
Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-47) took to the legislature floor in pre-vote debate Thursday to propose an amendment to rename S.B. 300, officially the Pregnancy and Parenting Support Act.
"Members," she said, "this amendment renames the bill to the Forced Pregnancy Act, which is basically what it does."
Abortion rights defenders—some of whom were joined by Democratic Florida lawmakers in an impromptu singing of "Lean on Me" in the State Capitol after Thursday's vote—also warned that the six-week ban poses life-and-death risks to Floridians.
\u201cFL House cleared the gallery because the public, who got 30 seconds or 15 seconds in committee to speak on this bill, continue to express their opposition from the gallery\n\nLawmakers have joined the public in singing Lean on Me outside of the Florida House\n\nWe are all we\u2019ve got.\u201d— Florida Planned Parenthood Action (@Florida Planned Parenthood Action) 1681398265
"Across the country, pregnant people are being pushed to the brink of death because they can't get an abortion. Yet Florida lawmakers have rushed this dangerous ban through the legislature with no concern for their citizens and how it will harm them," Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
"This bill threatens to end abortion almost entirely amid a growing public health crisis," she continued. "If this ban takes effect, Floridians would be stranded in a vast abortion desert and forced to travel over 1,000 miles to get an abortion. No one should have to face that, and many people will not be able to make that journey."
"Across the country, pregnant people are being pushed to the brink of death because they can't get an abortion."
Common Dreams previously reported the ordeal of Nancy Davis, a Louisiana woman forced to carry a fetus with a fatal skull deformity inside her body for six months and then make a 2,500-mile round trip to New York in order to obtain an abortion.
"We also must remember," Smith added, "that Mifepristone is under attack, and if that pill is taken off the market, it will become even harder to get an abortion before six weeks."
\u201cIt's hard to overstate what a big deal this is. \n\nOnce Florida's bill takes effect (anticipated this summer), the Carolinas are the only states in the southeast with abortion legal past 6 weeks. \n\nThere aren't enough clinics for all the patients who will seek abortions.\u201d— Shefali Luthra (@Shefali Luthra) 1681418330
Although a panel of the right-wing 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal on Thursday temporarily blocked a Texas federal judge's invalidation of the government's approval of mifepristone—one of two drugs typically taken in tandem to induce medical abortion—reproductive rights campaigners warned that the ruling still poses a grave threat.
Earlier this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) contended that if the U.S. Supreme Court hears the Texas case and the court's right-wing supermajority upholds the ruling, "it would essentially institute a national abortion ban."
Kara Gross, the ACLU of Florida's legislative director and senior policy counsel, said that "in a state that prides itself on being free, this is an unprecedented and unacceptable level of government overreach and intrusion."
\u201cNo one should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will.\u201d— ACLU of Florida (@ACLU of Florida) 1681413746
"This near-total abortion ban will effectively eliminate legal abortion care in Florida," Gross continued. "It will force hundreds of thousands of pregnant people to have to travel out of state to seek the care they need. Others will be forced to remain pregnant against their will and endure labor and delivery and all of the significant medical risks associated with pregnancy and birth. "
"Floridians deserve better from their elected leaders who are responsible for representing their voices and protecting their freedoms," she asserted. "The government should never be able to force anyone to carry a pregnancy against their will. Every Floridian deserves access to health care and the right to make personal decisions about their own lives, families, and futures."
\u201cMy statement on the final passage of Florida\u2019s extreme six-week abortion ban \u2014\u201d— Daniella Levine Cava (@Daniella Levine Cava) 1681418832
NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju said in a statement that "this ban is dangerous, plain and simple. It will not only cut off abortion access for Floridians but the countless people who have sought care there as extremists in their own states enforce bans."
"Ron DeSantis talks about the 'Free State of Florida,' but it's clear that if he signs this bill as he has signaled he will, he'll be selling out our freedoms for his own personal ambition, stooping to new lows to win the 2024 GOP primary," Timmaraju added. "He should have listened in November when voters made it clear they don't support abortion bans—he can count on hearing it again when he's on the ballot next."
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'People Are Going to Die': Florida Senate Republicans Pass Abortion Ban
"This is a devastating day for our state and freedoms," said one Democratic Florida state lawmaker. "This six-week abortion ban is deeply unpopular, dangerous, and un-American."
Apr 03, 2023
Reproductive rights advocates on Monday angrily vowed to fight back after Florida's Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—a point at which many people don't even know they're pregnant.
S.B. 300 would replace a Florida law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with a six-week ban containing exceptions for victims of rape, incest, human trafficking, and "devastating" fatal fetal abnormalities; or to save the pregnant person's life.
"Bodily autonomy should not give a person the permission to kill an innocent human being," explained state Sen. Erin Grall (R-54), a sponsor of the bill.
However, Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-42) asserted that "this was never about life, this is about control."
\u201cWe will continue to fight back in the Florida House and for a world where everyone person has the ability to decide their future. We will also be ready to ensure impacted people are supported as their rights are stripped away by the GOP super majority. 3/3\u201d— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28 (@Rep. Anna V. Eskamani \ud83d\udd28) 1680545615
As state Sen. Alexis Calatayud (R-38)—one of only two Republicans who voted against the six-week ban (she supports a 15-week limit)—spoke during an emotionally heated floor debate on Monday, someone in the visitors' gallery shouted, "People are going to die!"
Kara Gross, the ACLU of Florida's legislative director and senior policy counsel, said in a statement: "This bill is a near-total ban on abortion in Florida. It directly violates our right to bodily autonomy and will virtually eliminate legal abortion care in Florida."
"In a state that prides itself on being free, this is an unprecedented, unconstitutional, and unacceptable level of government overreach and intrusion into our private lives," she continued. "This bill will force pregnant individuals to remain pregnant against their will and endure labor, delivery, and all of the significant medical and financial risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth."
\u201cA slew of amendments filed today for SB300 -- Florida's 6-week abortion ban, which heads to a full senate vote tomorrow. \n\nBut I'm lol'ing at Sen. Minority Leader Lauren Book (D)'s amendment to change the name from the \u201cHeartbeat Protection Act\u201d to this:\u201d— Alanna Vagianos (@Alanna Vagianos) 1680119503
Gross added that the legislation will also "unfairly and disproportionately impact people who live in rural communities, people with low incomes, people with disabilities, and people of color."
"Hundreds of thousands of pregnant people will be forced to travel out of state to seek the care they need," she warned. "Many people will not even know they are pregnant by six weeks, and for those who do, it is unlikely they will be able to schedule the legally required two in-person doctor's appointments before six weeks of pregnancy."
\u201cRon DeSantis is one step closer to moving Florida completely into the dark ages.\n\nA near-total ABORTION BAN just passed the Senate. 6 weeks; before most know they're pregnant.\n\nThis culture war is a CLASS WAR. Women of means will leave Florida for care. Poor women are outta luck.\u201d— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@Carlos Guillermo Smith) 1680546624
Democratic Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement that "women's rights, freedoms, and access to reproductive care are under continued attack in Florida."
"We must reinforce that private healthcare decisions must be protected and allowed to stay private between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her faith," the mayor continued.
"Things have gone too far," she added. "We must do better and stand for true freedoms that have been the foundation of our great nation."
\u201cWomen who miscarry in the State of Florida are being sent home to develop sepsis before they can receive needed abortion care. And with the new abortion ban, it will only get worse.\n\nThis is not freedom.\u201d— Lauren Book (@Lauren Book) 1680208481
S.B. 300 now heads to the GOP-controlled state House of Representatives for consideration. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican and possible 2024 presidential candidate, supports the measure.
As NBC Miami's Anthony Izaguirre noted:
A six-week ban would more closely align Florida with the abortion restrictions of other Republican-controlled states and give DeSantis a political win on an issue important with GOP primary voters ahead of his potential White House run.According to the Guttmacher Institute, Florida is one of two dozen states that have banned abortion or are likely to do so after the U.S. Supreme Court voided half a century of reproductive rights in last June's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.
The bill would have larger implications for abortion access throughout the South, as the nearby states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi prohibit the procedure at all stages of pregnancy and Georgia bans it after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks.
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