AP PSYCHOLOGY MAY BE ALLOWED IN FLORIDA AFTER ALL

College Board had urged schools not to offer class if portions would be cut

Students in Florida may be permitted to take Advanced Placement Psychology in the coming school year, officials said Friday, a day after the College Board had revoked its support for the course in Florida, asserting that it had been “effectively banned” by the state’s Department of Education.

AP Psychology, one of the most popular Advanced Placement courses across the country, has been the subject of the latest tug of war between the College Board, an influential nonprofit organization that oversees Advanced Placement courses and the SAT, and the state of Florida. The two sides have been at odds since Florida rejected a new AP class on African American studies this year.

The latest tussle came over a section in the AP Psychology course that addresses gender and sexual orientation.

A day after sparring in public statements about the fate of the class, the Florida Department of Education and the College Board released statements Friday suggesting that the course could continue to be taught in Florida, including the section on gender and sexual orientation, though many questions remained.

AP classes are one of the most popular options for advanced, college-level courses offered in thousands of high schools nationwide. The classes look good on college applications, and students can also get college credit in some cases with a high score on an endof-year AP exam.

More than 28,000 students in Florida took AP Psychology last year.

But under a new Florida rule, instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation is now restricted through 12th grade, putting the AP Psychology course in the spotlight.

Florida officials had recently asked the College Board to offer assurances that material in its AP Psychology curriculum would not violate state laws or rules.

The College Board declined, saying it would not “censor” college-level standards.

The section in question comes as part of a unit on developmental psychology, which includes themes on “moral development” as well as on gender and sexual orientation. A section on gender and sexual orientation has been a part of the course since it was introduced 30 years ago, the College Board said, and the American Psychological Association has said that the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation is a necessary part of studying human development at the college level.

The College Board announced Thursday that school districts in Florida should no longer offer the course if it could not be offered in its entirety.

By Friday, though, the sides appeared to have ended their standoff, at least for now.

In a letter to school district superintendents, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. wrote that the state believed the AP Psychology course could be taught “in its entirety” in an ageappropriate way. Still, it was uncertain exactly how school districts intended to proceed or whether any adjustments would be expected to comply with the state’s rule.

The College Board issued a new statement, reversing its earlier finding that school districts should not offer the course.

“We hope now that Florida teachers will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment in the upcoming school year,” the College Board said in a statement late Friday.