The Florida Department of Education has approved a new education platform that is causing quite an uproar.
PragerU has been greenlit for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade and is teaching lessons that reject progressive classroom curriculum. The free app uses a variety of short-form videos that focus on subjects such as taxes and financial literacy but also takes a more conservative tone with lessons titled “Was the Civil War About Slavery,” “Make Men Masculine Again,” and “The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party.”
The timing of the platform’s approval is also questionable, arriving at a time when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state’s DOE have moved to drastically alter how Black history is taught in schools. The new curriculum will paint slavery as a skill development movement that worked to “benefit” enslaved African-Americans rather than the brutal human rights crisis that it was. Critics see the move as a way to erase the role of the state in the slave trade, and PragerU’s courses questioning slavery will only further downplay the historical Black experience.
Nevertheless, the DOE has deemed the content safe for classrooms. Though it is not required, educators will not be penalized for using the platform, even if it does offend parents and students by rejecting one’s sexuality, religion, or race.
“The Florida Department of Education reviewed PragerU Kids and determined the material aligns to Florida’s revised civics and government standards. PragerU Kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplemental materials in Florida schools at district discretion,” the agency said in a statement.
PragerU was founded in 2009, with PragerU Kids having launched in 2021.
