Florida Rejects 71% Of K-5 Math Textbooks Over 'Prohibited' Critical Race Theory

Florida has banned a number of mathematics textbooks in its classrooms after its education commissioner determined that they included "prohibited" critical race theory topics. Among the books banned include 71% of proposed math books for kids studying grades K-5.

On Sunday, Florida’s Department of Education released a statement announcing the bans. Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said that the materials did not properly align with Florida's teaching standards, but noted that the 41% of the books were deemed impermissible on the grounds that they allegedly included references to critical race theory.

“It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has made his efforts against critical race theory a part of his political brand.

These exclusions made up the largest rejection of school books by the state in history, according to the department. The rejection of such a large number of textbooks in a subject like mathematics underscores the seriousness of DeSantis’ determination to position himself and Florida as leaders on the culture war front in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

None of the names of the textbooks were shared in the press release, but a breakdown of the grounds used to reject them was. Of the 132 textbooks viewed by the state, Florida opted to reject 28 (21%) of them for incorporating "prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies" that included critical race theory. In comparison, only 12 (9%) of the rejected textbooks were for failing to align with Florida's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards.

Broken down by the grade level, 71% of the books that were rejected were for students in grades K-5, 20% for those in grade 6-8 and 35% for those in grades 9-12.

Corcoran, DeSantis’ top education official, noted that Florida was working to ensure that it has the "highest-quality instructional materials" by banning these books. The state currently ranks 34th in the U.S. in math scores, according to rankings by the U.S. News and World Report.

Democrats in the state were quick to slam the decision to ban so many math textbooks, arguing that DeSantis has turned Florida's classrooms into "political battlefields."

"I get it," State House lawmaker Anna Eskamani wrote on Twitter after the decision. “The goal of math is to solve problems which the Republican Party of Florida doesn't like to do.”