TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A proposal targeted at excluding “identity politics” from teacher preparation programs is making its way through the Florida Senate.) has emerged from the Republican-dominated Rules Committee as one of the most contentious education bills of the ongoing 2024 legislative session.
Under the terms of the bill, teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities would be prohibited from instructions that “may not distort significant historical events or include curriculum or instruction that teaches identity politics or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.
Critics state the bill expands a 2022 Florida law named the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act or “” that restricts the teaching of concepts like racial superiority and the idea some races are inherently advantaged or disadvantaged in K-12, higher ed and by private businesses.Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, argued that the blocking of identity politics from teacher-training programs is essential to prevent their transmission to students.
“In order to teach a future educator how to teach in the classroom should be focused on techniques and how to deliver the message of science or whatever it is in the classroom, but some of the instances in here … It’s actually pretty shocking. It’s telling them how to be social justice warriors in the classroom,” Ingoglia stated during an Appropriations Committee on Education meeting on Thursday.
Sign up below to be added to our mailing list for the latest news updates, access to exclusive contests, and more!