DeSantis Issues Threat Amid College Board Feud

He says maybe Florida will replace AP classes
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 14, 2023 3:00 AM CST
DeSantis Threatens to Replace AP Classes Amid College Board Feud
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference on Jan. 26, 2023, in Miami.   (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

Amid his ongoing dispute with the College Board, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is airing a new idea: the possibility of replacing advanced placement, or AP, classes in his state. The high school courses are provided by the College Board, the nonprofit organization that also runs standardized tests and other exams. "This College Board, like, nobody elected them to anything. They’re just kind of there, and they’re providing service. So you can either utilize those services or not," DeSantis said at a press conference Monday, per the Hill. "And they’ve provided these AP courses for a long time, but, you know, there are probably some other vendors who may be able to do that job as good or maybe even a lot better."

The governor added that he's already spoken to some officials about the possibility of replacing AP classes with something else. His feud with the College Board began when he blocked its new African-American studies pilot program in the state (over student objections), then "claimed victory," per the Hill, when the College Board later released the final version of the course and its changes seemed to align with what Florida had wanted changed. The College Board then hit back, clarifying that the changes had been in the works before the Florida feud and accusing DeSantis of exploiting the issue for political reasons. DeSantis also responded to that statement Monday.

"The College Board was the one that in a Black studies course, put queer theory in. Not us,” he said. “They were the ones that put in intersectionality, other types of neo-Marxism into the proposed syllabus, and this was the proposed course." "In Florida, we do education, not indoctrination," DeSantis added, per the National Review. "That runs afoul of our standards. Many people agree with that in other states. We were just the only ones to stand up and do it." (More Florida stories.)

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