Key takeaways:
- The Florida Board of Education has approved a set of academic standards for African American social studies classes in K-12 schools.
- Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed her “deeply troubled” response to the standards.
- The standards have sparked a debate about how Black history should be taught in schools.
The Florida Board of Education has approved a set of academic standards for African American social studies classes in K-12 schools. The standards include language that states “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” and that students will be taught to “identify” famous Black people. The standards also mention “violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.”
The approval of the standards has been met with criticism from Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to travel to Florida on Friday to deliver remarks in response. In a statement, Harris said she was “deeply troubled” by efforts in some states to “ban books and push forward revisionist history.”
The trip to Jacksonville will highlight efforts to “protect fundamental freedoms, specifically, the freedom to learn and teach America’s full and true history,” according to a White House official.
The standards have been released as Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans have continued a crusade against public education. Critics of the standards have argued that it fails to make it necessary for students to learn about each of the contributions, challenges and stories of famous Black people.
The approval of the standards has sparked a debate about how Black history should be taught in schools. It remains to be seen what Vice President Harris will say in her remarks on Friday, and how it will be received by the Florida Board of Education.
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