What's really behind Florida's 'ban' on AP psychology?

In its latest controversial move, Florida’s Department of Education this week advised superintendents across the state to stop teaching Advanced Placement psychology classes for high school students unless they exclude topics related to gender or sexuality, according to the College Board, the nonprofit that oversees the AP program.

The College Board quickly condemned the move as an “effective” ban on the popular course, arguing that students who take AP psychology in Florida under the new rules will not be eligible for college credit.

“Any AP Psychology course taught in Florida will violate either Florida law or college requirements,” the organization said in a statement Thursday. “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.”

More than 28,000 Florida students took the course last year, according to the College Board, making it the fifth most popular AP course in the state, and even more were expected to take the course this year.

What prompted the 'ban'?

The AP psychology course prompts students to “describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of development.” Though the College Board says this aspect of the curriculum has remained unchanged for 30 years, it has come under new scrutiny in light of Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, signed last year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The law — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its opponents — prohibits public school teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in class. This spring, the law was expanded to the 12th grade.

Supporters of the law have long said it gives parents the right to determine when and how to introduce LGBTQ topics to their children. But critics say this is disingenuous and the law only further alienates LGBTQ youth.

The specific portion of the AP course caught in the crosshairs of this law is unit 6.7, which discusses gender and sexuality and includes the definitions of gender, sexuality, gender roles and stereotypes and their socialization factors.

The Florida Department of Education, which advised superintendents about the move Thursday morning, resists the notion that it banned the course, accusing the College Board of “attempting to force school districts to prevent students from taking the AP Psychology Course” in a statement to Yahoo News partner CNN. In June, the College Board refused to alter the course, which had been taught at 562 high schools statewide, after the state asked the organization to review all AP courses to see if they "need modification to ensure compliance" with the Florida law and new education policies that prohibit instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The Department didn’t ‘ban’ the course. The course remains listed in Florida’s Course Code Directory for the 2023-24 school year,” Cassie Palelis, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, told NBC News in an email. “We encourage the College Board to stop playing games with Florida students and continue to offer the course and allow teachers to operate accordingly.”

'Enormous disservice to students'

Psychology experts, however, argue that stripping the course of topics related to gender or sexuality would be harmful to future students.

“Requiring what is effectively censored educational material does an enormous disservice to students across Florida, who will receive an incomplete picture of the psychological research into human development," Arthur C. Evans Jr., head of the American Psychological Association, said in a statement. "An Advanced Placement course that ignores the decades of science studying sexual orientation and gender identity would deprive students of knowledge they will need to succeed in their studies, in high school and beyond."

Chad Forbes, a professor of psychology at Florida Atlantic University, agreed. He told Yahoo News: “Excluding gender and sexuality-oriented topics from the study of developmental and social psychology is like teaching students how to bake bread without telling them they need flour.

“Forbidding the discussion of these topics in a psychology course will only hurt students, not protect them,” said Forbes.

Joseph Vandello, a longtime professor of psychology at the University of South Florida and co-author of "The Psychology of Sex and Gender," said, “There is nothing remotely controversial about the content of the AP psychology course.”

“Sex and gender are fundamental constructs of development, and people need to understand them,” Vandello told Yahoo News in an email. “These topics have been essential content of psychology courses for decades.”

Other scholars question whether the Florida Department of Education’s latest move was simply politically motivated.

“There is no scientific basis for this ban, and it is entirely motivated by anti-LGBTQ politics,” Wally Boot, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, told Yahoo News. “It is just one of many anti-LGBTQ policies in Florida intended to paint queer and trans individuals as dangerous.”

Impact of recent moves

The new AP psychology requirements are the latest in a series of controversial moves regarding public education in the state.

• Last month, state leaders passed new Black history standards for Florida’s public schools, requiring students to learn that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills.

• In May, DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits Florida colleges from spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

• In January, DeSantis blocked a new AP course on African American studies, saying it violated state law and was historically inaccurate.

• Last year, he signed into law the "Stop WOKE Act," which restricts how workplaces and schools can discuss race.

Last month, two major Black organizations — Alpha Phi Alpha, the country’s oldest and largest intercollegiate Black fraternity, and the National Society of Black Engineers, one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the U.S. — announced they were moving their annual multimillion-dollar conferences, slated to take place in Florida over the next two years, out of the state. Both organizations cited “hostile” environments toward Black people for their moves.

At least 10 other conferences that were slated to be hosted in Fort Lauderdale, Miami or Orlando have been moved or canceled in recent months, with event organizers citing concerns over the state’s laws related to LGBTQ rights, abortion, gun laws and more. The lost revenue has cost local businesses, hotels and others in excess of $20 million, according to local tourism officials.