OUR Republican Governor of Florida Ron de Sandys refused to teach a new academic course in African American studies offered by the College Board for high school students. The organization has been in operation for over a century and aims to promote higher education and prepare students for university entry. Nte Sandys claims the course violates state law and has “no educational value.” The move is the latest in a series of moves to keep discussion and lessons about race, sexuality, and gender identity out of the state’s classrooms.

DeSandis formally banned the course in a letter from the state Department of Education to the board of the agency, which administers college readiness tests such as the School Aptitude Test (SAT), among other things. He also oversees Advanced Placement courses which allow students to earn university credits in subjects such as English and Chemistry.

In the summer of 2022, the College Board announced that a pilot program that will “offer high school students an informed introduction to African American studies” will begin at 60 high schools across the country during the 2022–23 school year and expand to more in the following year. In its letter, the Florida Department of Education stated that the course “inexplicably contravenes state law and is largely without educational value.”

Disputes between Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo over the former secretary of state’s book.

“Gossip and Lies”

At the same time, divisions seem to be growing within the Republican ranks. In a TV interview given Thursday by Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration, she criticizes Mike Pompeo’s new book. Specifically, she said that the former secretary of state’s allegations that she “conspired” against Mike Pence to become vice president of the Trump administration are “gossip and lies to sell his book.” “I don’t know why he said that, but that’s why I stayed as far away from Washington as possible to avoid drama,” he also said, noting that Pompeo himself writes that he is not sure that this story is real. .

Pompeo has also been critical of Haley’s performance as ambassador and criticized her resignation. Both are among the likely contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, in which Trump remains the only confirmed nominee.