Department of Education rejects 54 math books

The Florida State Department of Education has denied 54 of the 132 math textbooks submitted by publishers. According to the organization, the books did not meet its Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards or were denied because they included references to critical race theory, social-emotional learning and other concepts.

According to certain conservative institutions, critical race theory and social-emotional learning are used to “brainwash” students.

“It’s idiotic to have something depicting race in a math textbook, but also CRT is such a broad topic I could understand why the textbook could somehow include CRT on accident,” freshman Isaiah Turner said.

According to the FLDOE, 20 percent of math textbooks for grades six through eight were rejected. In grades nine through 12, 35 percent of math textbooks were rejected.

“We’re going to ensure that Florida has the highest-quality instructional materials aligned to our nationally-recognized standards,” says Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran in a recent speech. “Florida has become a national leader in education under the vision and leadership of Governor [Ron] DeSantis.

By Mariam Hassan