Pembroke Park, Florida – Students across Florida will receive new social studies textbooks for the upcoming school year, but they will be missing some of the latest social studies topics.
New books are part of a regular adoption process every few years. But there’s more controversy this year, thanks to laws passed in states regulating what can be taught in classrooms.
In 2020, Black Lives Matter and social justice rallies were held across South Florida and across the United States. But classes about them have been removed from social studies textbooks for students in Florida.
“I see this as an attempt to hide the truth and downplay the contributions of black Americans to our country,” Robert Mitchell said.
Mitchell is the founder of Gray’s Mac City Black Lives Matter.
“It’s common knowledge that textbooks say, ‘There was a movement called Black Lives Matter.’ The reason for that is because young men and women were unjustly killed and killed,” he said.
The Florida Department of Education shared this as an example of the material publishers had to change before the book was accepted and available for purchase by schools.
The text, which could appear in middle school textbooks, had the headline “A new call for social justice” and detailed the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd. It was considered an “unwanted topic.”
Other content removed included references to socialism and references to kneeling during the national anthem in elementary school textbooks.
“To maintain our standards of excellence, we focus on the highest quality educational materials available to our students and teachers, historical facts, and eliminate inaccuracies and ideological concerns,” said Florida Department of Education Secretary Manny Diaz. “We need to make sure that we have access to educational materials that are free of rhetoric.”
State education leaders said when the materials were first submitted, only 19% were approved. 66% of content was approved after the State of Florida worked with publishers to remove content as inaccurate or not compliant with Florida law.
WPLG Local10.com Copyright 2023 – All Rights Reserved.