They try to censor 155 LGBTQ and people of color themed books 1:13
(CNN) --
Florida education officials released four images of some of the math textbooks the state rejected this month, citing what they said were references to critical race theory or other "forbidden" topics. ".
The state Department of Education last week rejected 54 of 132 math textbooks that publishers had submitted.
The books did not meet the Standards of Student Thinking for Excellence or were rejected for including critical race theory, social-emotional learning and more, she said.
Florida rejects 41% of new math textbooks, citing critical race theory among its reasons
Some conservative groups claim that critical race theory and social-emotional learning are used to indoctrinate students.
Among the images released this week of books the state says have not been adopted are references to "racial bias" and social-emotional learning.
It is not clear which books they come from or their full context.
Department spokeswoman Cassie Palelis did not identify the books and referred CNN to the agency's website that shows "some examples" that were "received from the public."
It is not clear exactly what the specific concerns were in the four examples.
"At this time, those who have submitted textbooks for consideration remain the owners of the material (i.e., its content is copyrighted and we are unable to make it public at this time, pending review)," he wrote. .
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Examples mention "racial bias measurement" and the "Implicit Association Test".
Highlighted in yellow: mentions of racial bias and its measurement.
Highlighted in yellow: mentions of the implicit association test and racism.
Another says that the "goal of social-emotional learning" is to help students "develop social awareness while practicing empathy with their peers."
This excerpt sets out the goals of social-emotional learning.
The fourth includes a censored word or phrase.
It also says, "This feature is designed to build student agency by focusing on students' social-emotional learning." The images were posted with a disclaimer that reads, in part:
This excerpt talks about the agency of the students, or their ability to choose.
"These examples do not represent an exhaustive list of input received by the Department. The Department continues to give editors the opportunity to correct any deficiencies identified during the review to ensure the widest selection of high-quality instructional materials are available to Florida's school districts and students."
Governor says he wants to focus on academics
Socio-emotional learning helps students "develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships and make responsible and supportive decisions," says the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning.
More than a dozen states have set standards for teaching social-emotional learning in elementary schools, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But as more states consider the strategies of this apprenticeship, conservative groups have asserted that critical race theory is an inherent part of it.
What is and what is not critical race theory?
Opponents argue that critical race theory is based on Marxism and is a threat to the American way of life.
But scholars who study it say it explores how a history of inequality and racism affects American society today.
Florida officials want to "focus education on real strong academic achievement for students," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
"We don't want things like math to have, you know, some of these other concepts introduced. It's not proven to be effective, and frankly, it's distracting," the governor told reporters at a news conference.
Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, called for transparency on how the state education department came to the decision, including examples of "objectionable" content and details on who reviewed the textbooks and what makes them qualified to do so. .
-- CNN's Tina Burnside and Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.
critical race theory