(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Florida Department of Education announced that 41% of proposed K-12 math books intended for the 2022-2023 did not meet academic standards due to the inclusion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other controversial topics, The Daily Wire reported.
“Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics,” Florida’s Department of Education said in a statement.
“The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies,” Florida’s D.O.E. added.
“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,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, R, said in a statement.
In January of 2020, DeSantis announced new academic standards for his state, pushing out Common Core standards.
The new standards, dubbed “Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking” — also known as “B.E.S.T.” — were released in 2021 to as an outline for the submission process for the 2022-2023 school year, making it clear that CRT, Social Emotional Learning and other instructional materials with ideological leanings.
“We’re going to ensure that Florida has the highest-quality instructional materials aligned to our nationally-recognized standards,” Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in a statement.
“When it comes to education, other states continue to follow Florida’s lead as we continue to reinforce parents’ rights by focusing on providing their children with a world-class education without the fear of indoctrination or exposure to dangerous and divisive concepts in our classrooms,” Corcoran added.
In total, 54 of 132 proposed books were rejected for classes of all grades. Publishers are not allowed to appeal the state’s decision.
“I’m grateful that Commissioner Corcoran and his team at the Department have conducted such a thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law,” DeSantis added in a press release.
 The Florida Department of Education announced that 41% of proposed K-12 math books intended for the 2022-2023 did not meet academic standards due to the inclusion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other controversial topics, The Daily Wire reported.){kind=link}