Content censorship is a major issue plaguing the United States. With the reinstatement of the AP Psychology course in the Lee County School District for the 2024-2025 school year, discussion on course censorship is essential to bring awareness to this issue. We at The Seahawk’s Eye feel that the return of AP Psychology is crucial and long awaited, but continue to question the initial ban.
AP Psychology, according to the CollegeBoard, “explore[s] the ideas, theories, and methods of the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.” A course that has been around for over 30 years, AP Psychology is a staple course in advanced high schoolers’ transcripts. It provides the opportunity for students to explore the human mind, and investigate how small aspects of the brain can have lasting effects on the body.
In June of 2023, the Florida Department of Education announced that certain “sexual” materials within the course were inappropriate for students at the high school level, calling for a retraction within the AP course’s curriculum. In response, the CollegeBoard publicly announced that any adjustments to the course taught in Florida violate college requirements, and thereby shouldn’t be allowed to be accepted at the collegiate level. With the appeal of taking AP courses dependent on receiving college credit, this response left students across the state devastated.
The decision to reinstate the course in Lee County came after the course’s update for the 2024-2025 school year. With the revision evidently removing the “explicit” content, students are now able to officially take the course once more. With adjustments to key terms and topic analysis coverage, the information being taught has been cleared as appropriate for the high school level. While this is celebratory news for students, the need to review the appropriateness of content for high school students poses the idea that standard information can be debated and deemed subjective to those with authority.
Course censorship, especially at the high school level, is a crime against learning. By limiting what types of knowledge and information a student has access to, education will continue to promote closed-minded thinking. We at The Seahawk’s Eye are dedicated to reporting the truth, and as such, will continue to support and advocate for educational freedom. While the reinstatement of AP Psychology was a crucial change for high school students in Lee County, we believe that its initial removal will continue to promote censorship throughout the state.
Education of all types is fundamental to proper student development. By taking away the opportunity to learn, you promote static students who will not grow personally and professionally. The argument that students should be protected from possible “explicit” topics is juvenile, and reiterates the harmful assumption that teenagers aren’t worthy of higher education. While The Seahawk’s Eye will continue to support educational freedom, we will not disregard the initial censorship running ramage throughout our state.
As an IB school, it is the responsibility and duty of all involved to continue the promotion of inclusivity within the class. By removing courses like AP Psychology, violation of that ideal is apparent. Disregarding the walks of life of all people, including current students and staff, is incredibly harmful to said individuals. It voids their personal experiences, and teaches others that they aren’t worthy of respect. Course censorship will continue to happen, which is why The Seahawk’s Eye is determined to bring light to the topic to pursue permanent educational freedom.
Education defines a student’s future. As such, it is critical to protect its freedom by promoting content inclusivity and rebuking attempts to censor it. It is apparent that certain organizations don’t share that same rhetoric, which is why The Seahawk’s Eye calls on our readers to advocate for their right to learn any and all subjects they wish to explore. The ability to choose is an essential right, and it starts with advocating for knowledge everyone should have access to.
