The Florida Department of Education has rejected more than 50 math textbooks from next school year’s curriculum, citing “prohibited topics” like “Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics” and “references to critical race theory.”
The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an “alarming” 71% were not appropriately aligned with Florida’s new education standards. The list of textbooks rejected is the most in Florida’s history, CNN reported, citing a release by the FDE.
Reasons for rejecting textbooks also included references to critical race theory, “inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics,” according to the news outlet.
As noted by CNN, “Critical race theory has become politicized in recent years, with conservatives arguing the area of study is based on Marxism and is a threat to the American way of life. But scholars who study it say critical race theory explores the ways in which a history of inequality and racism in the United States continues to impact American society today.”
In a statement, DeSantis said he is grateful for the department’s thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law.
“It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students,” the governor said, CNN reported.
Read the full report on CNN.
