Ron DeSantis and the Shackles of History

Education has been a hot button topic for decades, but especially in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation. Questions of whether schools should be able to require students to wear masks sparked outrage in parents and politicians, both supporters and opponents. The controversy bubbled up to the point of the creation of a new, parent-run organization in January 2021: Moms for Liberty.

Over the past two years, the group has made national headlines for condemning masks and COVID-19 precautions, promoting efforts to ban books, and preventing classroom discussions on topics like race, gender, and sexuality. They’ve led the conversation surrounding the infamous term ‘critical race theory,’ which, though primarily taught in higher education, now generally refers to any discussion on race.

The distrust of school boards and educators to properly educate children has been largely facilitated by Moms for Liberty, and it is leading to harmful legislation that limits what students are able to learn and what teachers are able to teach. Most recently under fire is the AP (Advanced Placement) African American Studies course, and heading the battle is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Who is Ron DeSantis?

Ron DeSantis has left an undeniable imprint on Floridian schools, economic and health policies, culture, and way of life. Throughout his political career, he has regularly criticized the policies of President Obama and supported those of President Trump. When numbers did not look promising for the primaries, he begged Trump to back him, whose endorsement then allowed him to win the primaries and narrowly defeat his opponent, Andrew Gillum, with a .4% margin.

The former limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, and the second “protects” Floridians, specifically children, from discrimination and woke indoctrination, essentially prohibiting conversations of race relations.

The Framework and Pilot

Since taking the gubernatorial office in 2019, DeSantis has enacted a range of notable policies, several cementing him as a barrier to secondary education. In 2022 alone, he passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, or the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the Individual Freedom Act, or the Stop WOKE Act.

The CollegeBoard began to develop its AP African American History in 2020 amidst social justice uprisings, catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd. This AP class is a full year course covering four units: Origins of the African Diaspora; Freedom, Enslavement, and Resistance; The Practice of Freedom; and Movements and Debates. It begins with the study of early African societies, kingdoms, and city-states, dating all the way back to 3000 BCE and includes source materials from these societies, such as photos of architecture/ landscapes, paintings, sculptures, and other artistic expressions. The course material then progresses to the enslavement of Africans in the 16th century up until the mid-to-late 19th century and also the struggle to gain freedom and how it is still a struggle for Black Americans today to keep this freedom. The third unit covers the institutional and systemic barriers that have been put in place to stop Black Americans from fully exercising their freedoms as their white counterparts have. The last unit dives deeper into the movements that were created to uplift Black and African Americans.

In the 2022-23 school year, the first pilot was launched at 60 schools across the country. There are no specifics provided on where these schools are located, but it is assumed to be in several states. In the 2023-24 year, the pilot will expand to hundreds of additional high schools, and the following year all schools can begin to offer the course. In spring 2025, AP exams will be available for all students to take.

Current Controversy

The CollegeBoard is attempting to offer courses that will enrich students’ understandings of the country we live in and will generally inform them of vital history. Despite these efforts, states have still lashed out against the prospect of the course. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has been at the forefront of this fight. On February 7, 2023, after the release of the updated framework for the course, the Florida Department of Education sent a letter to the Senior Director of CollegeBoard’s Florida Partnership, Brian Barnes. In it, the Bureau of Standards and Instructional Support argued that certain parts of the course violated the statutes in House Bill 7 regarding the Principles of Individual Freedom. The letter then reveals the revised framework had removed nineteen of the original topics included in the pilot, a number of which the FDOE cited as conflicting with Florida law.

Some of these topics included those covering African American art, culture, and poetry; African American political thought; the social construct of race; and systematic institutions of racism. However, the FDOE still presses for further omissions to be made to the course if it is to be taught in the state.

Since Florida’s refusal to teach the new AP course, the state has also threatened to ban all AP courses. The Arkansas, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Virginia (all Republican-led) departments of education are reviewing the course to determine if it complies with their restrictions on lessons about race and racism. Texas has already passed a bill that would ban the course if it interfered with state law. All five of these states are among the eighteen that have passed anti-CRT laws.

In Arkansas and Virginia, the states are currently reviewing the course to determine if it violates state laws or executive orders censoring certain lessons on race and racism. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on January 15, 2022 banning “the use of inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory,” saying that “political indoctrination has no place in our classrooms.”Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a similar executive order a year later on January 10, 2023 to review policies that “promote teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies.”

District leaders in these states are worried about results these assessments may lead to and argue decisions such as this should not be left up to politicians, but to educators and subject-matter experts.

North Dakota passed a law in 2021 that prohibits instruction in critical race theory. Due to this law, a school district would have to go through the materials to determine if they comply with the state’s law and administrative rules as well as academic content standards. After this, the districts must put in requests for a course code to the Department of Education in order to offer said course. No school districts have done so thus far. Mississippi officials have deemed the course compliant with state law, despite anti-CRT laws. Reportedly, these laws are briefer and less strict than others. Texas has recently introduced a bill in February 2023 to ban any AP course that doesn’t comply with the state’s anti-CRT laws, concerning students that the course might be banned.

Secondary Education Takeover

DeSantis joined eighteen other states in passing laws that restrict how teachers talk to their students about race, sexuality, gender identity, and diversity. The biggest victim caught in the crossfire of this culture war? Educators. Many teachers worry that teaching issues the way they want to teach them would cost them their jobs, lose their school’s funding, or lead to even harsher restrictions.

Even in states without anti-CRT laws, teachers are overly-conscious of their assignments as they do not want to spark conflict with conservatives. The laws, though, are very vague, leaving teachers to wonder about what is and isn’t off limits, how much context they can really give on a topic, and how students are meant to learn about certain issues if they can’t mention race.

The CollegeBoard has now also fallen victim to these restricting laws. After the framework of the AP African American Studies course on February 1, 2023, the CollegeBoard was accused of downplaying and eliminati ng important topics due to the political pressure of DeSantis and other Conservative forces. If the CollegeBoard continues to cut back the inclusion of important issues in order to appease Conservative demands, it will undermine the reason for the course’s creation: to expand the presence of Black people in curriculum and in the classroom. Black people have been marginalized throughout our history, so they should not be oppressed even further in our history classes. Teachers are expected to teach the entire 250year history of the United States in one year– we need classes like African American studies to dive deeper into topics that are typically skimmed over or ignored due to timing issues. When the CollegeBoard submits to a state government saying that African American studies lack educational value, it invalidates their experiences and their histories.

The introduction of these classes is long overdue in American public schools, and by not providing said courses with their fullest, most comprehensive curriculum possible, the CollegeBoard may exacerbate this issue.

Post-Secondary Education Takeover

DeSantis’ tight grip over education does not end at secondary schools; he is also aiming to control Florida colleges and universities. He decided to target New College, a small, littleknown liberal arts public college in Sarasota, Florida. It is known as a place for free thinkers to excel, giving them space they typically would not have. Now though, DeSantis and his administration want to remake the school in the image of Hillsdale College, a Michigan school that has been active in conservative politics. In order to achieve this goal, DeSantis has removed six of the college’s thirteen trustees, replacing them with his own, and the college’s president, who he has replaced with his former education commissioner. On January 31, DeSantis unveiled new higher education policies. He wants to weaken faculty tenure protections, eliminate all diversity and equity programs, and mandate Western civilization courses. He has also asked students and faculty to fill out surveys regarding their political leanings and requested information about schools’ resources for transgender students, though it is not certain what he will use this information for.

DeSantis blamed New College’s failure to attract more students on its embrace of diversity and equity programs, which he argues serve as an “ideological filter.” In reality, the lack of marketing and state funding provided to the school since it was made independent in 2001 is a result of its small enrollment. DeSantis has recently promised $15 million for new faculty and scholarships to New College, but many note that the state has not invested in school to any degree such as this prior.

Going Forward

Ron DeSantis is one of the most dangerous men in politics today. He is attempting to limit a new generation to incomplete histories and conservative realities. He is attempting to remove the existence of minority groups both in our past and present. He cannot erase a group of people from our society, a place they are meant to flourish. However, by taking away safe communities, such as New College, and restricting the ways in which we can speak about pressing topics, like institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia, he is doing exactly that.

Education plays a vital role in shaping who we are today. Who you surround yourself with, who your teachers are, who your classmates are. What classes you take, what topics are covered, what extracurriculars you participate in Whether you stand up for the pledge of allegiance or sit with your back facing it, whether you are the only person of color in your class or one of many. It all matters. DeSantis knows this.

He is trying to curate a class of people who, in our more progressive world, will always give a voice to the past. We are meant to learn from history, not let it shackle us down and prevent us from moving forward. DeSantis represents the shackles. We need to break free.