Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman has added his voice to a chorus of backlash over State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ decision to decline funding for Advanced Placement African American Studies.
While schools may still offer the class, Woods did not recommend the course for state funding per an announcement this week.
Shipman, who for eight years served as founding CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, urged Woods to reconsider his decision, pointing to cultural awareness as crucial for preparing students to become global citizens.
“African American history is an integral part of American history, and this decision is particularly detrimental to Atlanta, given its profound social justice legacy and significant contributions to our nation’s civil rights progress,” Shipman said in a statement.
“Our students deserve a comprehensive education that reflects the rich tapestry of our nation’s history in all its complexity,” he added.
Eliminating an AP option limits students’ educational opportunities and chances for college credit, Shipman said.
The course was piloted in 33 Georgia schools over the past academic year. Gwinnett County Public Schools said it will not offer African American Studies as originally planned, given Woods’ decision. But the district is exploring other options. The uncertainty impacts around 240 students who were already registered across six of the district’s schools.
The Atlanta, Cobb and DeKalb school districts will still offer the course. In Atlanta and DeKalb, local dollars will provide funding.
“I worry that this kind of policy could set a precedent where at some point, the education system might say we can’t use public funds to take field trips to the Center for Civil and Human Rights, or the King Center or the Tubman Museum in Macon,” Shipman told the AJC. “I fear where this whole road leads.”
Other council members share similar concerns, he said.
Shipman attended a Wednesday press conference held by Georgia Democratic lawmakers to denounce the decision. Attendees included members of the Georgia House and Senate, teachers, students, and representatives from advocacy groups like the NAACP.
Using his platform on X, Shipman wrote that he hopes Gov. Brian Kemp will help reverse Wood’s policy.
In a follow up statement Wednesday, Woods said school districts could still teach a state-funded African American Studies elective course introduced to the catalog in 2020. He added that districts could teach some or all of the standards for the AP course and students may take the associated AP exam.
“When I reviewed the AP course, I had concerns about the state endorsing the totality of the course,” Woods wrote.
Kemp sent Woods a letter Wednesday asking whether his department reviewed the AP American Studies curriculum before the course entered Georgia schools last year and, if so, why the decision has since changed.
