Students threaten to sue DeSantis over AP African American studies ban
MSNBCJan 26, 2023
Three Florida students — all Advanced Placement (AP) honors students — announced on Wednesday that they'll sue Gov. Ron DeSantis if he doesn’t reinstate an African American studies course to the AP curriculum.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who’s representing the students along with attorney Craig Whisenhunt, says that blocking the course violates both state and federal constitutions.
DeSantis is trying to push his conservative views of history on Florida’s students, and all he’s doing is proving how ignorant he is about history that’s been often ignored in the schools for too long. An AP African American studies course would fill in large gaps in the curriculum. This is reactionary and regressive on DeSantis's part.
The curriculum of the African American studies course contained so much problematic content that the College Board has already agreed to revise it. This incident could’ve been avoided if the board had been transparent about the curriculum in the first place. Any threats of lawsuits are just publicity stunts for lawyers. Florida's students deserve high-quality and accurate history.