Florida and College Board Claim Truce in Fight Over AP Psychology Content

State of Florida– Students in Florida may be allowed to take Advanced Placement Psychology this coming school year, officials indicated on Friday. This followed the College Board’s decision a day earlier to withdraw support for the course in Florida, claiming the state Department of Education had effectively prohibited it.

AP Psychology is one of the most popular AP courses nationwide and has been at the center of ongoing tensions between the College Board, which oversees AP classes, and Florida. The dispute arose after Florida rejected a new AP African American Studies course earlier this year, part of Governor Ron DeSantis’ effort against “woke” education.

The latest disagreement focused on a section in AP Psychology on gender and sexual orientation. After publicly sparring over the course’s fate, the Florida Department of Education and College Board both released statements suggesting it could still be taught, including the controversial section.

AP classes allow high school students to take advanced, college-level courses that can earn college credit and boost college applications. Over 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology last year.

However, Florida recently restricted instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through 12th grade. This put AP Psychology in the spotlight, as Florida asked the College Board to confirm its curriculum would not violate state laws.

When the College Board declined to “censor” college-level material, it announced Florida districts should drop the course entirely. The state denied banning it and accused the College Board of playing politics.

By Friday, the standoff appeared resolved for now. Florida’s education commissioner wrote districts could offer AP Psychology “in its entirety” in an age-appropriate manner. Still, details remained unclear on how districts would proceed.

The College Board then reversed its stance that districts should not provide the course. It expressed hope teachers could now teach the full curriculum, including on gender and sexual orientation, without punishment.