The Advanced Placement (AP) suite of classes is a popular choice for high schoolers across the United States. Created by the College Board, the program provides the opportunity for students in high school to earn college credit. In recent years, however, the content in certain AP curricula has become contentious and even restricted in classrooms around the country. A relevant example of this is the recent ban on the AP Psychology course in the state of Florida. This decision has limited opportunities for students in the state and raised concerns about the future of education in the years to come. 

The Florida legislature recently “effectively banned” AP Psychology in the state’s public schools after the College Board snubbed the state government’s request to re-evaluate the course’s section on gender and sexuality. Florida’s Department of Education had told the state’s superintendents that teaching such topics to students is illegal under the state law and that AP Psychology may only be taught if it completely excludes discussion of said subjects. In a subsequent statement released by the College Board, though, the company asserted that any course that censors required content cannot be designated “AP” and must not be placed on student transcripts. Furthermore, the American Psychological Association has recently reiterated that courses omitting these subjects would breach their guidelines and cannot be eligible for college credit. Clearly, the College Board and major psychological organizations are firm on their stance to only recognize AP Psychology courses that include a foundational lesson on gender and sexuality. 

This ban on AP Psychology has left Florida’s school districts and students in a tough situation. Many high schools around the state have entirely dropped the course, anticipating that it would result in inadequate credit for students. They have been forced to consider alternatives for psychology courses that require extra time and funding to integrate into course offerings. Additionally, students subject to this ban have lost many opportunities. AP Psychology is one of the most popular courses offered in the Advanced Placement program; around 326,000 students took the exam in 2023, with 28,000 being from Florida. Florida students can no longer earn relatively inexpensive college credit for the course, potentially causing them to spend thousands of dollars toward earning the same credit in college. Evidently, Florida’s decision seems to have benefited no one in the school system. 

Such efforts to clamp down on course curricula, particularly in the state of Florida, are nothing new. Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron de Santis and other conservative officials expressed disdain toward aspects of the College Board’s new AP course, AP African American Studies. As a result, the College Board had to modify the course (which is still rolling out its pilot phase) to exclude topics disapproved by conservatives, including content on critical race theory and the Black Lives Matter movement. This situation with AP African American Studies parallels similar efforts by conservatives to shut down content they deem inappropriate in the AP Psychology course, and creates uncertainty in the future of high school education. Will conservative state legislatures continue to interfere with course content in accordance with their beliefs, effectively limiting opportunities for students and worsening the quality of the education system?

As a student who has earned college credit from AP Psychology and many other AP exams, I feel upset that measures are being taken to censor course content according to state legislatures' political agendas. Advanced Placement courses offer invaluable benefits to high school students, and such restrictions are likely to negatively affect these students’ chances at success. As the political climate becomes more tense in America, such restrictions on education are growing prevalent. Despite this, I hope that students’ futures are not hindered by political and ideological hostility. Ultimately, it is up to us, the students, to rally for fair educational opportunities. 

This article was edited by Grace Hur.