Florida Parental Rights Group Says 28 Social Studies Textbooks Should Be Rejected

'Critical race theory and social-emotional learning permeated these textbooks,' review project leader says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights in Education bill flanked by elementary school students during a news conference at Classical Preparatory school in Shady Hills, Fla., on March 28, 2022. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP

A Florida parent’s rights group is recommending that the Department of Education reject most of the school textbooks the group reviewed.

Under the direction of the Florida Citizens Alliance (FCA), 69 people across the state reviewed 38 social studies textbooks to determine whether they were in compliance with Florida statutes.

In preparation for the textbook review, each of the 69 reviewers went through an extensive training program by the Florida Department of Education (DOE) to learn how to identify critical race theory (CRT) and social-emotional learning (SEL) content. Reviewers also watched training videos produced by Truth in Textbooks and were taught how to identify problematic books—based on omission of facts, factual errors, slants, bias, half-truths, incorrect terminology, printing and formatting errors—and measured each textbook according to Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) and state benchmarks.

Denise Nystrom, project leader for the textbook review, issued an executive summary of the findings to Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. on Feb. 10.

Denise Nystrom, project leader for textbook review for Florida Citizens Alliance. Courtesy of Denise Nystrom

“The majority of the textbooks reviewed contained significant errors or should not be considered for adoption,” wrote Nystrom, who served as an assistant superintendent of school districts in Long Island, New York, for eight years. “All of the textbooks that had significant errors, as well as the textbooks that were not recommended for adoption, should be disqualified from the adoption process. Critical race theory and social-emotional learning permeated these textbooks. The conclusion of the findings is that the textbook publishers and authors are not adhering to Florida Statutes and are promoting their bias.”

Key Findings

A U.S. history textbook published by McGraw Hill for fifth graders “was slanted throughout to tell mostly a negative narrative” of America’s founding with “a disproportionate mention of the word slavery or enslaved,” the reviewers wrote. The book also describes Americans as racists and identifies America as a democracy rather than as a constitutional Republic, as stated in Article 4 Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, the reviewer said.

The reviewer of a textbook for civics and career planning found “numerous factual errors, incorrect terminology,” and “omissions of factual information” that “directs students toward specific political ideologies, and racial/gender rhetoric.”

The reviewer of an honors textbook on world history said the author suggested that Christianity has had “a bad influence on world history overall,” that globalism and “globalist entities like the [United Nations] and World Bank are good,” and that former President Donald Trump is “bad bad bad.”

Keith Flaugh speaks at Florida Citizens Alliance Gala in Feb. 2020. Photo courtesy of Keith Flaugh

In a Feb. 13 email to Diaz, obtained by The Epoch Times, FCA co-founder and managing director Keith Flaugh encouraged Diaz to reject 28 of the 38 reviewed social studies textbooks.

“We make these recommendations in a sincere attempt to help FL DOE provide the very best Constitutionally based Social Studies materials for Florida Students,” Flaugh wrote, noting that the “materials on the final adoption list will be in our public schools for at least 4 years.”

Florida Laws

Nystrom said it’s important to read Florida’s laws rather than listen to someone else’s opinion of Florida’s laws.

“When one reads the Florida state statute regarding what should be taught in social studies, there is absolutely an emphasis on the fact that the history of Native Americans, the history regarding slavery and African Americans, and the Civil Rights movement should be taught,” Nystrom told The Epoch Times, adding that “the way it’s taught needs to be addressed.”

“The materials need to be taught in a factually based way, and in order to do that one has to eliminate critical race theory and social-emotional learning from the process,” Nystrom said.

Nystrom drew attention to how Florida Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis are relentlessly portrayed by the media and some politicians as book burners who want to erase African American history and restrict the rights of those in the LGBT community.

“This is completely inaccurate,” she insisted.

The Parental Rights In Education Bill signed into law by DeSantis in March 2022 prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, among other requirements designed to protect the rights of parents in their children’s education. Critics labeled the legislation the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, even though the word “gay” isn’t mentioned anywhere in the law (pdf).

Fight Over AP Course Content

In January, the Florida DOE rejected a proposal for Advanced Placement Program (AP) African American Studies because there were several topics built into the curriculum that conflicted with Florida laws, including critical race theory. However, liberal activists threatened lawsuits and some Democrat politicians accused DeSantis of saying that black history “has no educational value.”

In reality, Florida law requires that students learn about African American history, as well as the history of the Holocaust and about the contributions of Hispanics and women to America.

“American history shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed,” the statute dictates, “shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation based largely on the universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.”

Referencing the statute is particularly important, Nystrom said, because “it demonstrates that the emphasis of Florida’s laws is not to eliminate anything in history but rather to make sure that it’s all taught factually.”

As Nystrom explained, project volunteers were trained to focus on specific things when conducting their reviews of the textbooks.

“We were looking for factual errors, omission of facts, in which you’re telling one side of the story but not telling the other side,” Nystrom said. “We’re looking for slants, bias, and half-truths. What we want to prevent from happening with regard to CRT and SEL is the teaching that certain people are inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, solely by virtue of their race or sex.”