The Florida Board of Education is sparking backlash after deciding on a new set of standards regarding how Black history should be taught in public schools.
According to CNN, the board ruled on the curriculum on Wednesday (July 19) in Orlando. The decision came after the state passed new legislation prohibiting teachers from instructing students on material that proposes anyone is privileged or oppressed based on race or skin color. Among the new set of standards, middle school students’ lessons must now incorporate “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” a document listing the principles shared.
In a statement, NAACP CEO and President Derrick Johnson condemned the board’s decision. “Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for,” he said. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history.”
When high schoolers are taught about events such as the 1920 Ocoee massacre, the new rules require that “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans” are included in the lesson. In a separate statement, Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, shared his thoughts on the new standards. He called it a disservice to students and “a big step backward for a state that has required teaching African American history since 1994.”
“How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from? Florida’s students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation’s divisions rather than deepen them,” Spar stated. “Gov. Ron DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process, he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad.”