Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is facing a lawsuit from three high school students over his Education Department’s decision to ban an Advanced Placement (AP) course on African-American studies.
As reported by NPR, the lawsuit was announced on Wednesday by State Representative Fentrice Driskell (D-Fla.). Speaking at a press conference, Driskell said that “by rejecting the African American history pilot program, Ron DeSantis has clearly demonstrated that he wants to dictate whose history does — and doesn’t — belong.”
The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of the three AP students by far-left attorney Benjamin Crump, who first rose to infamy for his role in the Trayvon Martin case, and has since gone on to represent numerous high-profile black clients.
“This is what it’s about, it’s about them, this is what the fight is for,” Crump said, referencing the students. “Never ever forget that.”
The ban in question was implemented as a result of two bills passed under DeSantis: the “Stop Woke” Act and the “Parental Rights in Education” Act. The former allows parents to sue teachers and schools if they violate limitations set in place by the state regarding the teaching of race-based subjects, while the latter bans schools from teaching sexually explicit material to elementary school students.
The African-American studies course is the latest addition to the AP lineup, a series of more rigorous high school courses that allow students to earn college credits that can be used to reduce the overall number of classes they have to take upon entering college. Upon the announcement of the new course, Florida’s Education Department rejected the class, with Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. calling it “woke indoctrination masquerading as education.”
“As we’ve said all along,” Diaz added, “if College Board decides to revise its course to comply with Florida law, we will come back to the table.” Shortly after Diaz’s comments, the College Board announced that it would indeed revise the course, and will release its “official framework” for the class on February 1st.
“We are glad the College Board has recognized that the originally submitted course curriculum is problematic, and we are encouraged to see the College Board express a willingness to amend,” said Alex Lanfranconi, communications director for the Florida Department of Education.