By Isabelle Wils0n-
A school in Florida is under fire after it required parents to provide written consent allowing their children to engage with a Black author’s book.
Parents at iPrep Academy in Miami recently received permission slips asking them whether they wanted their kids to participate in February’s Black History Month activities
The permission form detailed an activity in which “students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American”.
The school, which defines itself as the model of education for the future, is currently being questioned by researchers and the media about the potential implications of its procedures in this regard.
The school is a Nationally Certified Magnet School and is the vision of Alberto M. Carvalho, former M-DPCS Superintendent and iPrep’s founding Principal. Mr. Carvalho challenged educators to create a learning environment that closes the cultural and digital divide. Today,
Some Florida schools say they are trying to adhere to the state’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, more commonly known as the “don’t say gay” law, and the “Stop Woke Act”, both signed by the governor, Ron DeSantis, in 2022.
The express how the law regulates discussions about sexuality and gender in classrooms and how race and race issues can be taught in schools.
Slamming the entire process, the Florida commissioner of education, Manny Díaz, called the situation a “hoax”, posting on X: “Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month. Any school that does this is completely in the wrong.”
Diaz has been dragged into the matter by journalists insisting on finding out how he intends to resolve the controversy.
DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers in the state have created an environment in which teachers are severely limited in how they can discuss race, gender and sexual orientation in all grades, and they have not provided concrete guidance on how to comply.
Some teachers and districts have created policies, like the permission slip policy, to ensure they are acting in accord with the law. Critics have suggested that Florida law.
Florida’s Department of Education, in a statement sent to Business Insider, called the story a “media driven lie.”
“Any insinuation that students need permission to study African American history is absolutely false,” it said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has made Florida’s schools a battleground for the culture wars, implementing measures such as banning teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity and controlling pronoun use.
His administration has also introduced laws banning books and initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion at universities.