Georgia education officials have closed the door on state funding for local school districts to offer Advanced Placement African American History courses.
With only days before the 2024-2025 school year begins, a bulletin from Gwinnett County Chief Learning Officer DeNelle West went out to parents Monday evening stating that the state’s largest school district would no longer offer the AP course, despite having submitted the required formal course request to host the class for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.
That move is the result of a policy decision that could impact the course’s availability statewide. Gwinnett and other districts had offered the course under a pilot program last year that required approval from the state’s superintendent of schools, Richard Woods, to carry into this year. Now, the district must conduct schedule adjustments for incoming students who planned to take the course this year.
“Our commitment to a comprehensive and inclusive education remains unwavering and students can still explore related content through other elective courses available at their local schools,” West wrote.
Atlanta Public Schools also adopted the pilot course, offering the class to students at Maynard Jackson High School last school year. The class was created by the College Board, the governing entity of AP, or Advanced Placement courses, which offer high school students the chance to receive college credit, depending on their score on the final exam.
In a statement, APS said, “Atlanta Public Schools’ charter system status gives us the flexibility to continue offering Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies, even though it will not be supported with state funding. APS will provide the course to students with local funds. AP African-American Studies will continue to count for credit toward graduation. This district is committed to providing rigorous instruction that helps our students become globally-minded citizens.”
Nationally, there has been major controversy over the advanced course’s framework, which has been altered in recent months. Critics of the changes say that the new course fails to capture modern concepts of Black life as a form of conceding to political pressure as conservative backlash limits how educators talk about race, gender, and sexuality in classrooms.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been a vocal adversary against the class itself, rejecting aspects of the course that he has said violated state law.
According to the College Board’s website, AP African American History studies is “an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with rich and varied sources.” The course features four thematic units that follow a chronological timeline of Black history, starting with the origins of the African Diaspora to Black Movements and Debates.
Megan Frick, the communication director for the Georgia Department of Education, said in a statement that there are typically two ways a pilot program like the AP African American History studies course could move forward.
“The State School Superintendent can make a recommendation for approval, or the State Board of Education can initiate an approval directly,” Frick wrote. Districts can still offer the course if it is not initially funded through state dollars, she said, noting that Woods previously added a course code for a state-funded African American history course back in 2020.
“Local districts may still offer the AP course with local funding” she said.
The Georgia Association of Educators released a statement calling the move an “ironic, ill-considered” choice.
“Woods’ decision truly stands out against the backdrop of the approval of the AP European History class,” the statement reads. “What is our State Department of Education communicating to Georgia’s diverse student population? … This truly demonstrates a step backwards in Georgia’s education curriculum.”
Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent Calvin Watts said in a statement that the district is disappointed that they will not be able to continue the course in the coming weeks. However, they plan to continue communications with the State Board of Education to explore options for including the course in district curriculum in the future.
“In GCPS, we are committed to offering a comprehensive and inclusive education for each and every student,” Watts said. “The 2023-24 AP African American Studies pilot was successful, and we are disappointed that students will neither have the opportunity to take, nor to receive credit for this innovative college-level course.”
This story has been updated.
