Schools in Florida’s Hillsborough County are cutting the number of Shakespearean students who will graduate next year, citing Ron DeSantis’ new Parental Rights in Education Act, which tells schools to avoid sexual content.
Instead of enjoying the full texts of classics such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Macbeth, students are assigned individual excerpts from the plays to study.
“It was also in compliance with the law,” said Tanya Arja, a spokesperson for the school district the Tampa Bay Timesreferring to the controversial bill promoted and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
By using excerpts, the schools can include Shakespeare in the syllabus but avoid anything considered sexually inappropriate under the new law.
Teachers must adhere to guidelines set by district officials and if they fail to do so, in extreme circumstances they may have to defend themselves against a parent complaint or a disciplinary case at their school, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
Schools in Florida’s Hillsborough County are reducing the number of Shakespeare students who will study next year, citing Ron DeSantis’ new Parental Rights in Education Act
Parts of Shakespeare considered too sexual to be taught in schools under DeSantis’ new reforms, school district says
Joseph Cool, a reading teacher at Gaither High School, told the Tampa Bay Times that the changes are “absurd.”
“I think the rest of the nation — no, the world, is laughing at us,” he told the publication.
“Bringing Shakespeare out entirely because Romeo and Juliet’s relationship somehow exploits minors is just absurd,” he said.
He added that students “definitely won’t” get the same educational experience learning excerpts as compared to studying the plays as a whole.
School board member Jessica Vaughn was also critical of the move.
Vaughn wrote on Facebook that “it feels like a lot of this is deliberate, to create as much chaos in public education as possible so that the public education collapse is swift and the education privatization agenda can move forward with fewer obstacles.”
The school district, the seventh largest in the country, is currently headed by interim superintendent Van Ayres, who took over in July, just weeks before students are due to return for the start of the new school year.
The move also aims to help students pass a new set of state exams that span a wide variety of books and writing styles.
“Bringing Shakespeare out entirely because Romeo and Juliet’s relationship somehow exploits minors is just absurd,” argued a local teacher
Interim superintendent Van Ayres will oversee curriculum changes in the coming weeks as children return to school
Arja explained that the new Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking contain lists of books that may be included in the state competency exam and therefore more texts should be covered.
“We have to make sure that our students are prepared with enough material during the year so that they are prepared for their tests,” said Arja.
DeSantis was also at the center of a recent education row over whether Advanced Placement (AP) psychology classes would be banned in Florida high schools following his ban on teaching LGBT subjects.
The nonprofit College Board advised the state’s school districts that the course, which contained a link about gender and sexual orientation, would be “illegal” after DeSantis recently signed a comprehensive ban on teaching those subjects through grade 12.
But last Friday, statements from both sides suggested Florida high school students could still take the full course.
Controversy also erupted after it was announced last month that a new curriculum will teach Florida high school students that slavery teaches black people “skills” that can be used “for their personal benefit.”
Florida’s Board of Education approved new rules for teaching black history in the state at a public meeting in Orlando.
A 216-page document on the Florida Department of Education website provides new instructions for high school teachers.
This includes how students should be taught “how slaves developed skills, which in some cases could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Other instructions include notable massacres against African Americans which will change to note that they had also played a part in the violence.
The curriculum changes come after DeSantis received significant backlash over his Parental Bill of Rights — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics.
Following a series of reforms introduced by the governor, the Department of Education has announced it will now ban public school districts from taking their students on field trips or other “school-sponsored activities,” including “adult live performances.”
This is in response to a law banning children from attending drag shows in Florida with the increasing popularity of “drag story time.”
Part of DeSantis’ presidential platform includes a pledge to return schools to the mission of “education, not indoctrination.”
He argues that this so-called indoctrination amounts to districts, teachers and other educators pursuing a “wake up” agenda that introduces children to adult conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity at an early age.