Florida

Florida Dept. of Education Rejects Math Books for ‘Attempts to Indoctrinate Students'

In a statement Friday, the Department of Education said 54 of 132 submitted textbooks, about 41%, were rejected for not conforming with the state's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards

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The Florida Department of Education has rejected 54 math textbooks after claiming publishers were trying to "indoctrinate students" with references to Critical Race Theory and other topics.

In a statement Friday, the Department of Education said 54 of 132 submitted textbooks, about 41%, were rejected for not conforming with the state's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards.

The rejected books included references to CRT, Common Core and Social Emotional Learning in mathematics, the department said.

The highest number of books rejected were for grades K-5, where 71% didn't meet the standards, the department said.

The department didn't give examples of which books were rejected or the standards that weren't met.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has worked to eliminate Common Core and has denounced CRT in schools, was asked about the move at a news conference in Jacksonville Monday.

"Math is about getting the right answer, and we want kids to learn to think so they can get the right answer, it's not about how you feel about the problem or to introduce some of these other things," DeSantis said.

Democrats said the move is the latest by the state to control public schools.

".@EducationFL just announced they're banning dozens of math textbooks they claim "indoctrinate" students with CRT. They won't tell us what they are or what they say b/c it’s a lie," Florida Rep. Carlos Smith tweeted. "#DeSantis has turned our classrooms into political battlefields and this is just the beginning."

DeSantis and Republican lawmakers in the state have pushed for legislation to prevent CRT instruction in schools, with the governor proposing a "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" last year. The acronym stands for "Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees."

Last month, DeSantis signed a bill that gives parents a say in what books schools can and can't have in their libraries, after claiming schools were making sexually explicit books available to children.

Democrats opposed the bill during the legislative session, saying that it amounts to censorship and compared it to book burning.

Another bill passed by Florida lawmakers last month would limit how educators discuss certain racial issues in classrooms by not allowing teachers to have students feel they are to blame for racial injustices in America's past.

Opponents said the legislation was designed to create racial division and would have a chilling effect on the discussion of injustices past and present.

And late last month, DeSantis signed into law a bill that limits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade in the state’s public schools.

Critics have dubbed it the "Don't Say Gay" law and argue that its true intent is to marginalize LGBTQ people and their families.

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