Why it matters: Several Republican-led states have moved to limit student exposure to critical racial theory, or CRT, an academic framework developed in the 1970s by legal scholars focusing on systemic racism.

How or not systemic racism is taught in public schools has become a new mistake in cultural wars, notes Russell Contreras of Axios. Critics say the so-called CRT bans end up limiting any discussion of diversity, per Contreras.

The numbers: 54 of the 132 math textbooks (41%) recently submitted to the state for review were found to be “unacceptable either by the new Florida standards or contained banned topics,” according to a statement from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) on Friday. .

28 (21%) of these books “were not included in the list approved because they incorporate banned topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT,” the statement said. 14 (11%) “were not included in the approved list because they do not properly align with BEST standards and incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT”, the statement added.

The big picture: The Republican-controlled Florida House passed a measure in February aimed at making it easier to get books that are considered unacceptable. Details: Most of the rejected books were for primary schools, according to the announcement of the Ministry of Education.

The department said it was “unfortunate” that several publishers had “ignored” the 2021 directive and “tried to transfer educational material under a new name” to books, while others “included banned and divisive concepts such as CRT tenants or other unsolicited catechism strategies. despite FDOE Prior Information ».

It is worth noting: The training department described the review process as “transparent”, but did not name the rejected textbooks or provide examples of excerpts that did not meet the criteria. What they say: DeSantis said in a statement that it was “grateful” to Richard Corcoran, the outgoing Education Commissioner, and his team for “checking these textbooks to make sure they comply with the law.”

“It seems that some publishers have tried to throw paint on an old house built on the foundations of the Common Core, and teach concepts such as racial materialism, especially, strangely, for elementary school students,” DeSantis added.

The other side: State MP Carlos Smith (D) wrote on Twitter on Saturday that DeSantis was “taking out hysterical math textbooks from FL schools claiming that children with CRT were being” catechized. “

“This is not just a crazy skill – they will then spend MILLIONS of tax dollars forcing schools to buy math textbooks from GOP campaign donors,” Smith added.

Go deeper: The New York Public Library provides some of the banned books for free