Florida bans 28 math textbooks in panic over Critical Race Theory

The state of Florida is rejecting 28 mathematics textbooks as a result of Republicans' purported outrage over Critical Race Theory.

On Friday, Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the state had rejected the math textbooks under the state's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) standards.

"The approved list followed a thorough review of submissions at the Department, which found 41 percent of the submitted textbooks were impermissible with either Florida’s new standards or contained prohibited topics – the most in Florida’s history. 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," the department announced.

"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. Despite rejecting 41 percent of materials submitted, every core mathematics course and grade is covered with at least one textbook," the department said.

Corcoran has been pushing the moral panic over Critical Race Theory.

In a December press release from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Corcoran claimed, "our classrooms, students and even teachers are under constant threat by Critical Race Theory advocates."

DeSantis praised the banning of math textbooks.

“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 said after Corcoran found 21% of math textbooks "incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT."

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