The Florida Department of Education on Friday said the state would not include dozens of math textbooks in a list used by school districts for shopping class books because their content included references to critical race theory and other “forbidden subjects” and “unsolicited strategies.” The announcement was made in a press release entitled “Florida Rejects Publishers’ Efforts to Catechize Students.” It did not include the names of any of the books, nor did it provide specific examples of the content that provoked their objections. The state agency said 54 of the 132 textbooks submitted by publishers for the state review were “unauthorized either by the new Florida standards or contained banned topics – most in Florida history.” Most of the books that were not approved were for K-5 grades, the statement said. “Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), Common Core Inclusions, and the spontaneous addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to mathematics,” the press release said. The decision comes as efforts to challenge the books increase at local school council meetings across the country. In Florida, Republican lawmakers passed a new law that offers more transparency in the book selection process, raising the issue of parental rights. READ MORE: The repulsion was almost immediate. Some Democrats criticized the decision, saying it was part of an ongoing effort to politicize education in Florida. “#DeSantis has turned our classroom into a battleground, and that’s just the beginning,” state spokesman Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, tweeted. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has made no secret of his plan to address social issues through the adoption of textbooks. In a May 2021 speech at the conservative Hillsdale College, Corcoran spoke of the need to remove “crazy liberal stuff” from state educational materials. “In terms of education, other states continue to follow the example of Florida as we continue to strengthen parental rights by focusing on providing their children with world-class education without the fear of being catechized or exposed to dangerous and divisive concepts in our classrooms. “Corcoran said in a statement on Friday. The state has a textbook adoption cycle that alternates between topics every six years. When purchasing textbooks for their schools, districts turn to the state’s approved list to make sure they are in line with state standards. Social studies follow, and many educators have predicted that the effort will be more controversial than in previous years – especially after the passage of a new law requiring schools to open bookstore committee meetings to the public. and make all material available for public examination before it is approved. The measure, signed by DeSantis last month, will also require schools to publish all selection criteria they use to select books. Tampa Bay Times reporter Jeffrey Solochek contributed to this report. This story was originally published on April 15, 2022 at 9:10 p.m. Related stories from the Miami Herald Ana Ceballos is a political and political journalist for the Miami Herald. He has covered the state of Florida for the Associated Press, the Naples Daily News and the Florida News Service. Before moving to Sunshine State, he lived in California and Mexico. She has a degree in journalism from San Diego State University, where she was the director of the student newspaper.
