New Guidelines Pushed By DeSantis Teach Florida Students That Slavery ‘Benefited’ Slaves

Florida middle schoolers will start learning that enslaved people had “personal benefit” from slavery after new academic standards were passed.

This has ignited a firestorm in the state, specifically with teachers’ groups. These standards were approved by the Florida Board of Education and teachers will have to teach students that slaves “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” 

This comes after the 2022 “Stope WOKE Act” which states that race is to be taught to children objectively and cannot “indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view.”

It seems to be pushing the idea that white people should not feel ashamed of how black people were treated under slavery.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has been pushing many of the guidelines about students’ education on black history. He has publicly endorsed these laws and plans on continuing this agenda.

The Board of Education wants students to learn about the skills slaves developed, such as “agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation.” They are trying to prove that these skills were “in some instances… for their personal benefit.”

While learning about American history, students are educated on the era of Reconstruction when black communities were rebuilt. In these new guidelines, teachers are to instruct high schoolers on  “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” 

A meeting was held in Orlando to speak about the new guidelines. The members of the FEA (Florida Education Association), citizens, teachers and members of various organizations spoke at the meeting to oppose the standards. They requested these new regulations be tabled for further revision, but the board rejected this idea. The FEA tweeted a series of statements including, “When public comment ended, the board voted to adopt them. There was no discussion.” 

They additionally tweeted comments made by concerned citizens. One came from Thomas Bugos, who is “a 17-year veteran teacher from Seminole County.” He stated, “We must leave the world better than we found it. History informs decision-making, and these standards lack a comprehensive outlook.”

Another opinion came from Dwight Bullard, who “pointed to the fact that there are no African Americans on the Florida State Board of Education. Those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.” 

The FEA is openly opposed to the standards and has described them as “a big step backward.” 

They shared their own press release: “How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from? Florida’s students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation’s divisions rather than deepen them.”