Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., wrote a letter to textbook publishers demanding records from them as well as the state of Florida. The records sought are related to revisions made by the companies to ensure their textbooks aligned with Florida state law.
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Earlier in May, the Florida Department of Education said it worked directly with publishers to update textbook material in accordance with Florida law. Gov. Newsom saw it differently accusing the companies of “kowtowing to Florida’s extremist agenda.”
“California will not be complicit in Florida’s attempt to whitewash history through laws and backroom deals,” Newsom said in a letter to textbook publishers. “Parents have a right to know what’s happening in the dark to undermine our children’s education.”
Examples of revisions made to textbooks include the removal of a reference to kneeling during the national anthem, adjustments to the definitions of socialism and communism, and the removal of references to social justice. Newsom’s records request is meant to see if the textbook publishers who worked with Florida are also designing California’s textbooks.
“You don’t get to rewrite history in a back room. You don’t get to erase basic facts around segregation, the Holocaust, or Rosa Parks’ story,” Newsom said. “The extremists in Florida and textbook companies that are colluding with them are about to be exposed.”
Newsom’s letter gave publishers until June 1 to disclose whether they submitted social studies textbooks for Florida’s approval and whether they made changes at Florida’s request.
