Folks don’t have to be outraged about Georgia not having AP Black studies courses anymore.
According to NBC News, Georgia’s superintendent of schools has reversed course following the backlash of the state’s “refusal to provide funding for a new Advanced Placement class in African American Studies.”
Richard Woods in a statement said the state will provide funding “to districts that use a course code that has been in the catalog of state-funded courses since 2020.”
“Districts using this course code will receive state funding,” he said. “Should districts choose to do so, they may teach some or all of the standards in the AP African American Studies course using this code and students may take the associated AP exam.”
The course actually wasn’t qualified for Advanced Placement credit.
Advocates for the course stressed that the state’s refusal to fund this type of AP course would “suppress teaching about Black history.” Unfortunately, Florida and Arkansas have taken a similar route in restricting courses on AP African American Studies.
Democrat from Lilburn, State Rep. Jasmine Clark said the recent development is necessary.
“Reversal, on principle, is great, and honors the fact that this course should have never been on the chopping block in the first place,” she said.
“I am meeting with the [Department of Education] this morning to confirm that with this workaround, students taking this course will receive the same GPA quality points as their peers in other AP courses. Since this course is a college-level course, there must be parity between this course and all other AP offerings.”
Appointed by the governor, the State Board of Education has to approve a class before it can even be eligible for state funding. This helps pay for the class materials as well as the teacher’s salary. Originally, Woods had decided he wouldn’t recommend approval of the course to the board but didn’t say exactly why.
Woods had other thoughts, though, when he reviewed the course, admitting he had concerns regarding the state endorsing the totality of it.
“It’s my position that districts should use the existing course code — which offers them the flexibility to develop their own curriculum based on local priorities, or to use standards from the AP course if they choose and in consultation with their communities,” he said.
For this upcoming year, 33 Georgia schools will pilot an African American Studies course.
