ORLANDO, Fla. — According to the Florida Department of Education, state leaders have rejected more than 50 math textbooks from the curriculum next school year, citing references to critical race theory as one of the reasons for being rejected.

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The state banned the teaching of critical race theory last year.

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“It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I’m grateful that Commissioner Corcoran and his team at the Department have conducted such a thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law.”

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Out of 132 textbook submissions, 54 of them won’t be added to the state’s list because they did not adhere to Florida’s new standards or contained prohibited topics.

“We’re going to ensure that Florida has the highest quality instructional materials aligned to our nationally recognized standards,” said Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran. “Florida has become a national leader in education under the vision and leadership of Governor DeSantis. When it comes to education, other states continue to follow Florida’s lead as we continue to reinforce parents’ rights by focusing on providing their children with a world-class education without the fear of indoctrination or exposure to dangerous and divisive concepts in our classrooms.”

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The list of rejected books makes up about 41% of submissions, the most in Florida’s history.

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