Georgia schools superintendent says no state funding for AP African American studies course
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Georgia high school students enrolled in a pilot AP African American Studies class will need to change their schedules after the state superintendent declined to approve the course for state funding, just weeks before some students head back to school.
Why it matters: School Superintendent Richard Woods' decision to reject Gwinnett County Public Schools' request to offer the course for the upcoming school year has upended students' schedules and revived debate over so-called "divisive concepts" in the classroom.
The latest: DeKalb County School District announced in a press release Wednesday that it will still offer AP African American Studies at four of its high schools, and that DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond pledged $100,000 to help fund it.
- Atlanta Public Schools said the system would continue to offer the course using local funding.
In a letter to Woods, Gov. Brian Kemp asked what went into the superintendent's decision, whether the district ever reviewed the curriculum before the pilot course began, and other pointed questions.
Catch up quick: Earlier this week, DeNelle West, GCPS' chief learning officer, told parents that the Republican superintendent rejected the school system's application to make the course permanent at the 184,000-student system.
- GCPS students enrolled in the class for the upcoming school year would have to find a different course, West said.
Zoom out: In early 2023, Florida banned schools from teaching the same course. Shortly afterward, Arkansas, North Dakota, Mississippi and Virginia said they would review the curriculum.
- By December, the College Board updated the curriculum by removing the Black queer experience, Axios' April Rubin reports.
Zoom in: Developed by the College Board, the AP course is scheduled to launch nationwide next year. It explores the history and heritage of African Americans, such as the African diaspora, slavery and human and civil rights movements.
- Mikayla Arciaga, the Intercultural Development Research Association's Georgia Advocacy director, told Axios she's been working with a group of students in DeKalb County eager to bring the course to their classroom.
- "It should not be this hard for us to offer a course that kids, families, students and schools so clearly want access to, and that has such demonstrated benefits for students."
State of play: Local school districts could still offer the AP course, a Woods spokesperson told Axios. They'd just have to find the funding to do so.
- Another option, the spokesperson noted: The state Board of Education could approve the course.
Yes, but: Woods has not explained his reasoning behind rejecting the course approval.
- A Georgia Department of Education spokesperson did not acknowledge Axios' request for comment about Woods' reasoning behind the decision.
What they're saying: State Sen. Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson) called the decision an effort to erase Black history and "disgraceful" in a state with the second-largest population of African Americans in the country.
- "African American history is everyone's history especially when telling the story of Atlanta!" Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman said on X. "You cannot understand our Atlanta history without teaching African American history."
Caveat: On Tuesday, the College Board said it would consider authorizing Georgia schools' African American Studies classes as an AP course "if those courses meet college-level standards as verified by the AP program's standard process."
What's next: Democratic state lawmakers are holding a rally Wednesday at the Georgia Capitol at noon.
Editor's note: This story was updated with news that DeKalb County said it will still offer AP African American Studies.