Florida Now Going After Social Studies Textbooks

The New York Times reports:

In Florida, textbooks have become hot politics, part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign against what he describes as “woke indoctrination” in public schools, particularly when it comes to race and gender. Last year, his administration made a splash when it rejected dozens of math textbooks, citing “prohibited topics.” Now, the state is reviewing curriculum in what is perhaps the most contentious subject in education: social studies.

In the last few months, as part of the review process, a small army of state experts, teachers, parents and political activists have combed thousands of pages of text — not only evaluating academic content, but also flagging anything that could hint, for instance, at critical race theory. The Florida Citizens Alliance, a conservative group, has urged the state to reject 28 of the 38 textbooks that its volunteers reviewed.

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They’re even going after Rosa Parks.

The censored story of Rosa Parks in Florida:

“In the updated version, race is not mentioned at all.

“She was told to move to a different seat,” the lesson said, without an explanation of segregation.” https://t.co/cABqKRdlfk

— ⚖️🪴🇺🇦🌈 (@rogertansey) March 16, 2023

Teaching Jim Crow laws:

“The second version eliminates nearly all direct mentions of race, saying that it was illegal for “men of certain groups” to be unemployed and that “certain groups of people” were prevented from serving on a jury.”

— ⚖️🪴🇺🇦🌈 (@rogertansey) March 16, 2023

“The group complained that a McGraw Hill fifth-grade textbook mentioned slavery 189 times…An eighth-grade book gave outsize attention to the ‘negative side’ of the treatment of Native Americans” https://t.co/2OFJCiV50i

— Gillian Branstetter (@GBBranstetter) March 16, 2023