North Cook News

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is sparring with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over education, perhaps giving voters a preview of what could come in the 2024 presidential race.

Pritzker (D) sent a letter to DeSantis (R) criticizing his decision to effectively ban an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies from its curriculum, Politico reports.

After DeSantis publicly criticized an AP Black history course, Pritzker assessed the move as nothing short of "political grandstanding," the report said.

“I am extremely troubled by recent news reports that claim Gov. DeSantis is pressuring the College Board to change the AP African American Studies course in order to fit Florida’s racist and homophobic laws,” Pritzker wrote in his letter. 

Painting himself as the polar opposite of DeSantis, Pritzker promised, according to Politico, that Illinois will “not accept any watering down” of history. He further urged College Board officials to “refuse to bow to political pressure that would ask you to rewrite our nation’s true, if sometimes unpleasant, history." 

Pritzker and DeSantis have both been mentioned as possible presidential contenders for their parties in the 2024 election. 

Pritzker recently won a second term for himself as Illinois governor by defeating GOP challenger Darren Bailey in November's General Election. Pritzker garnered nearly 55% of the vote, Politico reported. 

DeSantis, likewise, ran away with the vote in Flordia, winning his 2022 re-election bid by the largest margin in a Florida gubernatorial race in 40 years, WUFT reported. He ended up with nearly 60% of the vote, besting his challenger by almost 20 points. 

Pritzker hinted that it's not DeSantis' place to try to control educational content.

"One governor should not have the power to dictate the facts of U.S. history,” Pritzker said.