Living in a relatively progressive area with access to great education, we don’t often think about how censorship could be a part of how we learn in schools. However, academic censorship has the potential to become a major issue with the passing of the Stop Wrong to Our Kids and Employees, or Stop W.O.K.E Act, in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis. The Stop W.O.K.E Act prohibits the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 curriculums and workplaces. Critical race theory is a framework that argues that racism is not a result of individual biases, but rather systemically embedded in U.S. legal systems and policies that are the root of all problems plaguing African Americans. Although not everyone needs to believe that critical race theory is true, it is imperative that all Americans are educated about this eye-opening approach to how the history of racism in America still affects us today. As such, censoring this theory is a violation of the integrity of our education, which should never be the norm in an educational or work environment.

One curriculum that has been recently entangled with the Stop W.O.K.E. Act is the AP African American Studies course. This course has been presented as an option in several high schools this school year, and is set to be offered all around the country in the 2024-25 school year. The class delves into the important contributions of African Americans, as well as more modern race-related movements. However, the banning of this class would potentially go against another Florida law from 1994, which mandates the teaching of general African- American history in schools. In the end, the act was not a major catalyst in the changes made to the AP African- American Studies course, but it has raised awareness of the possibility of censorship in our education. The College Board released an updated version of the AP African American Studies course curriculum on February 1, 2023. The new version excluded several of the initial topics such as critical race theory, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other contemporary racial issues. It seems rather intentional that the changes to the AP course coincided with the passing of the Stop W.O.K.E. Act. DeSantis believed that the course was a form of indoctrination for students, and would make white students feel shame for their racial privilege; however, by limiting the education of students on race, DeSantis in turn perpetuates indoctrination because he is enforcing a system that silences the voices of Black individuals. Therefore, College Board should not continue to be making changes to this course, especially in places like Florida, where education about race is already unsubstantial. After all, limiting the education in public schools is censorship because it excludes part of what students should be taught. If we start increasing the amount of censorship in our education system, we will never grasp the full, complete history of our nation; we will only learn a history that has been modified so much that it is an unrecognizable version of the truth and leaves out crucially important and impactful events from the past

Many important figures have opposed the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, such as Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief U.S. district judge of Tallahassee, who worked towards blocking the law. During the preliminary ruling on a recent case, Judge Walker prevented the Stop W.O.K.E. Act from being upheld in higher education, saying that using the power of the government to restrict the language used by professors and educators in the classroom is “positively dystopian.” Walker blocked the law when it was targeting workplace diversity practices, including recognizing unconscious bias. Without this training, workplaces become less inclusive, because people are not as aware of the potential impact of their actions. As a result of DeSantis’ censorship campaign and others spreading around the U.S., it seems evident that educational censorship may as well be a nationwide crisis.

When the “Parental Rights in Education” bill (nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) was introduced in Florida in 2022, many students protested against the censorship of sexuality and gender discussions in schools. The same can be done for the Stop W.O.K.E Act. We should continue to study critical race theory, as well as encourage our friends in other areas around the country to do so as well. This way we can continue to learn about this important topic on our own, even if it is not a part of what we are taught in schools. This will not only ensure that we continue to educate ourselves about race (although not in schools), but it will also help to harbor a more inclusive generation of young people in the United States.

Although self-studying can help us gain a baseline understanding of critical race theory and other race-related subjects, it will not permanently put an end to the rampant censorship in the classroom. Even though PHS has not been affected by the Stop W.O.K.E Act yet, it is evident that censorship could become a serious national issue and eventually impact how we are taught about race. In order to prevent serious censorship in education, a federal law is needed to prevent laws similar to the Stop W.O.K.E. Act. Considering that the ideas held in Florida about racial education are spreading to other areas around the country, it is possible that other laws like this act could become normalized in our society. With a law to prevent it, we would be in less danger of those ideas being spread to our school, and the law could allow others to see a true portrayal of race in America.

Censorship fails to teach students the full story of what the world is like or how it had become that way. It also continues to shield students from the truths of society and the diverse perspectives on our history, which is ultimately what education should be about. This dystopian future that we’re descending into is extremely alarming, and as high school students, we should fight against the censorship that is slowly encroaching on the integrity and quality of our education.