Florida education officials reject math textbooks over critical race theory

Originally Published on The New York Post

The Florida Department of Education has rejected a slew of math textbooks they say attempt to “indoctrinate” students through the inclusion of critical race theory and other prohibited subjects, officials said Friday.

The agency junked 41 percent of publisher submissions for a range of reasons — including “references to critical race theory” and adherence to federal Common Core standards.

“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 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a statement.

The Florida DOE invited publishers to submit math materials for use in the state’s public schools in 2021.

The DOE said 21 percent of the rejected volumes were declined “because they incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT.”

DeSantis previously banned CRT as a curricular component in Florida schools, arguing that it promotes a corrosive fixation on racial differences and minimizes individual agency.

“We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other,” DeSantis said in announcing the legislation in 2021…