Florida school permission slip misrepresented online

"In Florida now, parents allegedly have to sign special permission forms in order to allow their children to read books written by Black Americans at school," says a February 13, 2024 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The parental consent form indicates it is for "school-sponsored activities, events and supplemental programs" and describes the activity as a "read aloud" in which "students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American."

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Screenshot of an X post, taken February 14, 2024

The claim quickly spread elsewhere on X and Facebook. One post with tens of thousands of interactions was traced to a parent at Coral Way K-8 Center, part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district.

However, the posts mislead on the nature of the permission slip, which is not for reading a book but for attending a school-authorized event with a guest speaker.

"In compliance with state law, permission slips were sent home because guest speakers would participate during a school-authorized education-related activity," a district spokesperson told AFP in a February 15, email.

"We realize that the description of the event may have caused confusion, and we are working with our schools to reemphasize the importance of clarity for parents in describing activities/events that would require parental permission."

Online reactions to the permission slip are the latest scrutiny of laws Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed in 2022 (archived here).

Miami-Dade County implemented the parental consent requirement to comply with the Parental Rights in Education Act and the Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act -- which includes regulations that specifically limit instruction on gender, sexuality and race (archived here and here).

Florida in July 2023 changed its educational standards to comply with the legislation, requiring, for example, that middle school students learn "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

Manny Diaz Jr, Florida's education commissioner, called the recent claims "a hoax." In a February 13, 2024 post on X (archived here) he said: "Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month. Any school that does this is completely in the wrong."

Although state law does not mandate parents sign off on students reading books written by African American authors, it does require media specialists to approve books in public schools. In some schools, public complaints have led to the removal of certain titles.

DeSantis also in January 2023 blocked the College Board's Advanced Placement African American Studies course. Four months later, he signed legislation banning public colleges from using state or federal funds for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (archived here).

AFP has previously fact-checked misinformation about Florida's education system here.