Some Florida high school students could be sitting in new college-level American history classes next year, as the state is creating its own alternative to Advanced Placement courses.
A Department of Education memo issued April 10 states the agency will begin a pilot program for additional accelerated U.S. history classes for high school students to earn college credit for Florida public universities.
The pilot program for Florida Advanced Course and Test (FACT): U.S. History for the 2026-2027 school year is modeled on two introductory college-level courses, and instruction will be based on “current K-12 standards.” Full statewide implementation is scheduled for the 2027-2028 school year.
DOE officials didn’t return an email and call seeking comment Monday.
The move to add another college-level course to the high school curriculum is part of a 2023 law authorizing DOE to add advanced courses in collaboration with the State University System and the Florida College System.
The law (HB 1537) stemmed from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push against the College Board, which runs the AP program and related college-level courses.
AP Psychology’s teaching of gender and sexual orientation were deemed to run afoul of restrictions placed on those topics in the classroom by lawmakers. And DeSantis’ administration also took issue with the AP African American Studies course, claiming it taught critical race theory in violation of new state laws.
The state initially banned AP Psychology but later allowed the class to continue. In a letter to superintendents, then-Commissioner Manny Diaz said sexuality and gender, a chapter in the AP class, “can be taught consistent with Florida law.”
But the state still does not allow AP African American Studies to be taught in public schools. In response to critics who decried the move, DeSantis and DOE officials have pointed to other African-American history requirements throughout the state curriculum.
U.S. history is the second subject in the FACT program. Last year, the DOE initiated a statewide pilot for college algebra.
Like AP exams, FACT will allow students to earn college credit after achieving a minimum score on a postsecondary credit assessment as identified by the DOE.
Students who wish to take the FACT Algebra course can enroll in the 2026-2027 school year, and upon passing the exam, a student will receive college credit which will be accepted at any Florida public college or university in which the student enrolls.
According to the DOE memo, the plan for the FACT U.S. history courses is the same. If a student passes the U.S. history exams, they will have earned credit upon enrolling in any public college or university in the state of Florida. Students with sufficiently high scores will also complete their postsecondary civic literacy requirement.
But if a student does not pass the exam, they still will be given credit for the Introductory Survey history class, which counts for college credit but is not an approved general education class.
–Ana Goñi-Lessan, News Service of Florida
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