Outcry in Florida after DeSantis threatens to ban AP courses in the Sunshine State

Parents and students have been joined by community leaders this week in expressing their displeasure over a threat by Governor Ron DeSantis to eliminate Advanced Placement courses in the state following debate over an AP African American Studies course.

In recent weeks, the course has made headlines as DeSantis and Republican state officials have fought to amend and all but eliminate what they say amounts to teaching Critical Race Theory in schools. The AP College Board responded by eliminating several topics from the course curriculum including reparations, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and others. After the topics were stripped, the AP College Board came under fire for bending to DeSantis and his conservative allies. AP responded by claiming the governor had “slandered” its curriculum.

On Wednesday, students, parents, and Black community leaders including Rev. Al Sharpton marched outside the Florida State Capitol in protest of DeSantis’ Tuesday threat to eliminate all AP courses throughout the state over the controversy. Students expressed concern that their credits for the courses they have already taken would disappear and affect their chances of getting into their chosen colleges and universities if the AP courses were banned.

Sharpton rallied the crowd on Wednesday in Tallahassee, addressing DeSantis. “If you would have studied history long enough, you would have known to mess with us in education always ends in your defeat,” Sharpton said. “Our children need to know the whole story … to not only know how bad you were but to know how strong they are. They come from a people that fought from the back of the bus to the front of the White House.”