TAMPA, Fla — Once described as a “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media and education,” PragerU now portrays its mission online more simply as
“promoting American values.”
One year after Florida became the first state in the country to allow the company’s sometimes controversial, right-leaning kids' content to be used as teaching material in public schools, the content is still allowed in classrooms across the Sunshine State.
A spokesperson from Florida’s Department of Education stated in an email that its lessons, which promote conservative viewpoints of civics and history, “align with Florida’s revised civics and government standards.”
“PragerU kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplemental materials in Florida at district discretion,” the spokesperson added. In other words, teachers can use the material if their districts allow it.
But we’ve discovered Florida school districts are largely staying away from PragerU kids, which, on its website, states, “woke agenda are infiltrating classrooms, culture, and social media.”
We contacted dozens of districts around the state, from rural to urban, conservative to liberal and asked district if they’re allowing teachers to use PragerU kids in the classroom. Not a single district that responded to us said yes.
“Our district has not purchased any materials from PragerU and has no plans to purchase it,” a spokesperson from Hillsborough County schools told us.
According to a district spokesperson, the content hasn’t been included in any instructional resources in Palm Beach County. The same was true in Lee County, Manatee County, Leon County, and nearly a dozen other school districts we heard back from.
"There's been no pressure put on us by anyone at the state level to say you must adopt this,” explained Superintendent Fred Heid in Polk County, a rural and conservative county between Tampa and Orlando.
Heid explained his district’s decision not to offer PragerU kids content has nothing to do with politics.
“Many of us looked at that software and their online programs and video snippets and everything that came with that. It's just kind of a mixed bag. We don't adopt parts of curriculum, we adopt them as a whole,” he explained.
But those concerned about PragerU’s content see its lack of use in Florida as a sign in a state that continues to be criticized for turning public classrooms into political battlefields.
Rachel Laser is the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“I think there's a backlash that's happening across this country,” she said. “It’s not the role of public schools to be claiming something about church-state separation and religious freedom and, you know, whitewashing history and denying basic science and climate change. It's gone too far,” Laser said.
PragerU content has been approved in at least six other states. We requested an interview with PragerU, but the company has not responded.
