Washington — The American Psychological Association expressed disappointment in the decision by the Florida Department of Education to allow only high school psychology curricula that exclude content regarding sexual orientation and gender identity after the College Board refused to censor its Advanced Placement Psychology course and AP Psychology Exam.
“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,” said APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD. “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.”
In June, the College Board told the Florida Department of Education that it would not remove content addressing sexual orientation and gender identity from its highly popular and respected AP psychology course and exam. The state had asked the College Board in May to modify its curriculum to comply with Florida’s “don’t say gay” law.
“We continue to stand with the College Board’s decision, which was based on input from college faculty and experienced AP teachers,” Evans said. “Educators should not be required for purely political reasons to censor a curriculum and test that are grounded in the latest, most reliable research. And psychology professors cannot and should not accept for college credit a course that ignores critical aspects of human sexuality and identity, and removes an entire group of people from its curriculum.
“APA’s National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula, which guide curriculum decisions and instruction for high school psychology classes, have been in use by high school psychology teachers for nearly 25 years. In fact, the revised 2014 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies directly used APA’s 2011 National Standards which included the now banned information.”
Just over 326,000 students—including nearly 28,000 in Florida—took the AP Psychology Exam in 2023, making it the sixth most popular AP course, according to the College Board.