(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- After a recent review, the Florida Department of Education announced that 41% of proposed K-12 mathematics books for the 2022-2023 school year did not meet state academic standards due to their apparent inclusion of Critical Race Theory principles and other controversial educational institutions’ approaches.
References to Critical Race Theory (CRT), Common Core, and the uninvited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics were reasons for textbook rejection.
Most books were rejected for grades K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not correctly matched with Florida standards or incorporated forbidden themes and unsolicited tactics.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) stated that it appears that some publishers sought to throw a coat of paint on an old home constructed based on Common Core, indoctrinating notions like racial essentialism, especially, weirdly, for primary school pupils.
DeSantis introduced new academic standards for the state, tossing away the Common Core standards established in the state in 2010, barely one year after he started campaigning for jettisoning those standards.
Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking, or B.E.S.T, was the name given to the new standards.
According to a news release issued on Friday, Florida’s government gave textbook publishers clear instructions during the 2021 submitting process for the 2022-2023 school year, the first year “B.E.S.T” would be implemented:
In fact, in June 2021, the FDOE notified publishers that textbooks must adhere to the B.E.S.T.
Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran stated that they would guarantee that Florida has the highest-quality teaching resources matched to our nationally-recognized standards.
When it comes to education, Corcoran feels other states are following Florida’s lead as they focus on giving their children a world-class education without fear of indoctrination or exposure to dangerous and divisive ideologies in classrooms.
DeSantis has long been a critic of Critical Race Theory. The governor referred to it as “poison” in June 2021, adding that Florida was glad to have prohibited it.
While SEL has been around for decades, many think that in recent years it has evolved into a vehicle for promoting many of the same concepts as Critical Race Theory, such as equity, privilege, and structural racism.
54 of the 132 suggested books for K-12 schools were rejected. The state’s judgment can be appealed by the publishers.
In a news release, DeSantis said he was happy that Commissioner Corcoran and his colleagues at the Department had undertaken such a rigorous vetting of these textbooks to verify they conform with the law.
