Georgia’s top education official confirmed Monday that he would not endorse Advanced Placement African American Studies, setting off waves of criticism, a rally at the Capitol, questions from the governor and scrambling in the state’s largest school district to redo class schedules and teacher assignments.
Close to a week later, state School Superintendent Richard Woods has not budged on officially sanctioning the class, which has been piloted in Georgia for the past two years to positive reviews. The state Board of Education has not swooped in to approve the course without him. Confusion over funding and credits still linger. And many in Georgia remain outraged.
Woods has shared only glimpses into his decision, stating, “I had concerns about the state endorsing the totality of the course,” without elaborating on content areas and later telling Gov. Brian Kemp, “My primary concern and consideration was whether it was more appropriate to adopt the AP course in its 440-page totality at the state level, or to use the existing African American Studies course code and keep the review, approval, adoption, and delivery of this curriculum closer to local students, educators, parents, and boards.”
His office has offered the African American Studies elective course as a solution, saying districts could teach some or all of the standards for the AP course within that class.
Here’s a look back on what’s come to light in the past week and what uncertainties remain ahead of classes resuming in the next week and a half.
‘It has made so many realize how important this class is’
Elected Democrats called a press conference at the state Capitol Wednesday to denounce Woods’ decision. Members of the Georgia House and Senate were joined by teachers, students and school board members to demand state officials add the course to its AP catalog this year.
The group also rejected Woods’ suggestion that districts could teach an introductory course on African American Studies using elements of the AP course.
“Black history is not just about us being shut out and cast aside,” said Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn. “Our history is rich and diverse and it starts way before the trans-Atlantic slave trade and our students deserve to see that reflected in their curriculum.”
School districts, like Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County, announced that they would use local funds to pay for the course. However, Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, said they shouldn’t have to do that.
“This is nonnegotiable,” she said. “If we’re going to go there, take all the AP classes off (the catalog) and make them locally fund all of them.”
Another group of students, teachers and parents held a virtual press conference on Friday blasting the state’s decision not to support the course.
They took aim at part of a statement from Woods that said districts can develop the course using local priorities and community input.
“It’s an AP class,” said Cobb County parent and former teacher Kirsten Fournier. “We don’t hold town halls to talk about what’s in AP Biochemistry. It’s a dangerous position to put teachers in, to not allow them to follow the AP College Board curriculum as it stands.”
Maya Flowers-Glass will be a freshman at Atlanta’s Maynard Jackson High School and plans to take the class this year. She said the rapid criticism of the state’s position has left an impression on students.
“It has made so many realize how important this class is, because it isn’t just a class,” she said. “It is a gateway to teaching actual history, not the whitewashed and dimmed-down version we are taught now. It should not be this hard to teach actual American history.”
An unusual move
Woods’ actions led to a rare spectacle: a Republican governor assailing an elected GOP school superintendent. On Wednesday, Kemp sent Woods a letter with 10 pointed questions about his decision not to sanction the course, telling the school chief that the well-being of Georgia children and their educational opportunities were top priorities.
Given Kemp’s staunch support of House Bill 1084 two years ago, which limited classroom discussions of race and other “divisive concepts” that might discomfort students, his letter to Woods met with some skepticism.
As the Georgia Teacher of the Year for 2020 and 2021, teacher Tracey Nance had a front-row seat on state government operations in her role as an ex-officio member of the Georgia Board of Education.
“There is not a public admonishment from the governor,” she said. “This allowed Gov. Kemp to put on his small-town hero cape and tell the state that he values families and local control, with an eye toward letting voters know he is going to be the right choice when he is running for that Senate seat.”
“This was theatrics and it is harming our kids and it is harming Georgia’s future,” she said.
“Any reversal to Woods’ initial decision falls short if the AP African American Studies course is not the curriculum that has been approved by the College Board. Rebranding the state’s African American Studies course as ‘AP level’ is a violation of the state Board of Education’s own policy,” said Sarah Hunt-Blackwell, a First Amendment policy advocate for the ACLU of Georgia.
Credit problems
While Woods’ decision has statewide implications, the main player in the controversy has been Gwinnett County. The district is influential for its size and likely had the most students planning to take the course — 240 across six schools.
At this point, the main barrier for Gwinnett is how the class will be credited when it is coded as African American Studies but loaded with AP content, an important factor while applying for Georgia’s HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships.
“We don’t want our students taking an Advanced Placement course they can’t receive all the rewards for,” Deputy Superintendent Nikki Mouton said at Thursday’s school board meeting.
Further complication comes from the response The Atlanta Journal-Constitution received Friday from the Georgia Student Finance Commission about whether districts could offer the “real” AP class without penalty to their students regarding HOPE and Zell Miller.
The spokeswoman said the commission relies on the list of state-funded courses to identify courses for inclusion in the HOPE GPA calculation and to identify AP, IB and Dual Enrollment for purposes of adding mandated additional course weight.
Because Woods didn’t recommend it, the AP course is not on the state-funded course list so the class would likely have to be listed as the less rigorous state version on student transcripts.
The state Department of Education was unable to provide a response as of press time.
Staff writers Vanessa McCray and Ty Tagami contributed to this article.
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