How did high school psychology become the latest weapon in the culture wars? | Opinion

The 'Parental Rights in Education' Bill was originally sold to us as a prohibition of sexual discussion in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. And what parent in their right mind could have a problem with that? Opponents of the law were met with righteous indignation and the floated possibility that they were 'groomers.' But in April, the Florida Board of Education unilaterally expanded the restrictions from K-12. It turns out the critics were right after all ― 'Don't Say Gay' was never intended just for elementary school students.

Manny Díaz Jr., the Florida Education Commissioner tried to allay concerns with this promise: "We're not removing anything here." He then proceeded to demand that College Board remove the section of the Psychology AP curriculum dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity.

The College Board rejected the proposed censorship, and released this statement: "The state's ban of this content removes choice from parents and students. Psychology graduates go on to pursue a range of careers and must be able to successfully navigate professional environments that will require familiarity with these concepts. No experienced educator or practitioner in our field would support the decision to make these topics off limits."

Florida promptly banned the Psychology AP course from all school districts.

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As a father of a junior registered in the class, I was appalled at the last-minute timing of the dust-up. I had signed a permission slip approving my daughter's enrollment, and now my own Parental Rights were being infringed upon. My 16-year-old had been trying to take Psychology AP, a nationally-recognized 30-year-old college-level course­­, with a particular teacher since ninth grade. She'd even bought the textbook this summer, looking forward to finally getting her chance.

Alternatives like IB and AICE Psychology were offered up, but these were empty gestures. The teachers ―already underpaid, overstressed, and underappreciated ― hadn't been trained in those programs. Most schools were left to scramble and pivot to other classes.

On the second day of school, Díaz ― possibly afflicted with a temporary bout of reason ― seemed to reverse course. "AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate," he said. "Florida educators will be able to teach the full course, including content on gender and sexual orientation, without fear of punishment."

The majority of Florida's School Superintendents reinstated AP Psych. Some held meetings with the Florida Education Chancellor and the College Board, and promised to be "careful" to teach the sensitive material in an age-appropriate manner.

Not Brevard County. As one of the last sacred bastions of Parental Rights, our hometown School Board remained at the forefront of the Baby-with-the-Bathwater Movement. They scrapped the whole course. Superintendent Mark Rendell intimated that students and educators engaging in the Pscyh AP curriculum might put themselves in 'jeopardy.' "It has become clear that offering the Advanced Placement Psychology Course to our students this school year could be detrimental to our students, and our instructors," Rendell said.

The implication here is that teachers might lose their licenses, or be arrested, for simply teaching from the textbook. But what about the students? Which part of AP Psych presented a threat their otherwise-unsullied teenage souls?

Last night I leafed through the Forbidden Textbook to see what the 'Long Arm of the State' was protecting my child from. Of the thousand or so pages, less than one page addresses homosexuality and transgenderism, and only with the blandest, most basic definitions. Flipping through the rest of textbook revealed a number of other interesting psychology lessons currently denied to the young adults of Brevard County:

Ingroup/ Outgroup bias: Studies show that arbitrarily creating us-them groups, even by tossing a coin, creates bias among otherwise neutral people.

Phobia: Those with a phobia may be irrationally afraid of a specific object, activity, or situation.

Basic trust: Infants blessed with sensitive, loving caregivers form a lifelong attitude of trust rather than fear.

Cognitive dissonance: When we become aware that our attitudes and actions don't coincide, we experience tension, or cognitive dissonance. To relieve such tension, we often bring our attitudes into line with our actions.

All of these topics seem worthy of study.

Last year, English teachers were forced to remove Shakespeare and Primo Levi from their classrooms. This year it's Maslow, Piaget, and Erikson. What's next? If by removing something from view, one could make it would go away, Parental Rights crusaders might consider excising the Communism section from the Comparative Government and Politics AP curriculum.

And yet, the inviolable truth remains: a crucial objective of education is to encourage curiosity and inquiry in our students. Any parent in their right mind can see that this will never be accomplished by eliminating anything that's remotely questionable.

Dan Reiter is a writer and a parent of two Brevard County high schoolers.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Despite state reversing AP Psychology ban, Brevard students lose out