Story perspectives

DeSantis Backs Florida’s ‘FACT’ History Pilot, Replacing AP.

5/8/2026

Center

Florida Pilots FACT

House Bill 1537, a 2023 law targeting “woke” content, drives FACT History, which Governor Ron DeSantis praised and blamed College Board.
Florida will pilot the state-created FACT U.S. History course this fall, replacing the Advanced Placement option for high-school seniors.
The 214-page FACT framework emphasizes constitutional, economic and foreign-policy themes, unlike the 560-page AP curriculum.
Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas said the course offers bias-free study, but out-of-state credit is unclear.

Left

DeSantis Launches

The curriculum labels slavery a “necessary evil” and explicitly frames the three-fifths compromise as anti-slavery.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced Florida will launch a state-created U.S. History course for seniors, replacing AP.
The program uses textbook Land of Hope by Wilfred McClay to counter Howard Zinn.
Kevin Kruse warned the framework paints Florida as Christian and anti-slavery, a “Florida Man version.”

Blindspot

Left coverage emphasised the curriculum’s depiction of slavery as a “necessary evil” and the use of a single textbook that counters Howard Zinn, a detail not mentioned in the Center summary.
Left coverage also highlighted Senate Bill 1296 and House Bill 1279, which tighten teacher-union rules and provide bonuses to instructors, which the Center summary does not address.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 the U.S. Department of Education launched America 2000 standards, a federal effort that followed the 1994 Goals 2000 Act (which provided $105 million) and the 1994 voluntary National History Standards after the 1989 National Education Summit. Florida’s 2023 House Bill 1537, backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, repeats this state-level push, showing how curricula can reshape textbook markets and revive the national-local control debate.

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Florida Pilots FACT

House Bill 1537, a 2023 law targeting “woke” content, drives FACT History, which Governor Ron DeSantis praised and blamed College Board.
Florida will pilot the state-created FACT U.S. History course this fall, replacing the Advanced Placement option for high-school seniors.
The 214-page FACT framework emphasizes constitutional, economic and foreign-policy themes, unlike the 560-page AP curriculum.
Commissioner Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas said the course offers bias-free study, but out-of-state credit is unclear.

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