Georgia’s Advanced African-American Studies Course DebateGeorgia’s Advanced African-American Studies Course Debate Background * Georgia State Superintendent Richard Woods has recommended not approving the College Board’s advanced-level African-American Studies course. * Woods claims the decision gives communities options, allowing them to offer the course with the full rigor of Advanced Placement (AP) or a different curriculum. Arguments Against the Recommendation * Critics argue that treating African-American studies differently than other AP subjects deprives students of learning about black history and reflects poorly on the state. * They contend that it perpetuates the “separate but equal” approach that the course was designed to address. * Some districts, like Atlanta Public Schools, have committed to offering the course at the AP level, but others are unlikely to do so. Separate but Equal Concerns * Individual teachers can create their own AP course curricula, but those for certified courses are reviewed by the College Board to confirm alignment with course content and exam expectations. * Resources and accreditation are only available to teachers of certified courses. * Deviating from the framework could result in failing the AP exam, which may carry weight on a student’s GPA. * Critics view structuring black history differently than other classes as a sign of racism. Politics * The course has become a flashpoint in culture wars across the country. * In Arkansas, there is an ongoing lawsuit over the course. * In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned the course, claiming it indoctrinates children. * Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has requested information about Woods’ decision, which has received cautious praise from some critics. Implications * The decision highlights ongoing debates about how to approach race-related topics in education. * The controversy raises concerns about censorship and suppression of certain perspectives in the classroom. * It could impact the availability of advanced-level African-American studies courses in Georgia and other states.
Students across Georgia have received their class schedules and school supplies and are preparing to return to school this week.
But the culture war doesn’t take into account the school calendar or the ringing of the school bell. Moreover, this year’s battle over how to talk about race in the classroom has already begun after state Superintendent Richard Woods recommended that the advanced-level African-American Studies course not be approved.
Woods, a Republican, said his decision gives communities options. He said local districts could choose to offer the course with the full rigor of an advanced placement class, along with all the benefits, or they could offer a different curriculum.
However, some lawmakers and activists argue that treating African-American studies differently than other AP subjects deprives students of learning about black history and reflects poorly on the state.
“It’s separate but equal, and that’s absolutely not what we should be doing with African-American studies,” said state Rep. Jasmine Clark. “And it’s honestly a little ironic that this is the approach they’re taking, because that’s exactly why we need this class in the first place.”
Advanced placement classes are college-level courses offered to high school students in 39 subjects, from math and science to arts and humanities. The nonprofit educational organization College Board provides a framework for the classes, and teachers receive special training to teach them. They are more difficult than standard high school classes, but they carry more weight on a student’s GPA. Students who score well on a standardized AP exam can often transfer their credits to college.
Georgia State School Principal Richard Woods is in a 2022 photo. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
During the past school year, the College Board offered an AP African American Studies class as a pilot program. Last week, Woods said he would not recommend the course be approved for state funding. After pressure mounted, Woods clarified that individual districts could offer the course with state funding by using an existing course number for an African American Studies class that has been in place since 2020.
Department of Education spokeswoman Meghan Frick said school districts that want to offer the traditional AP class can offer students all the benefits of any other AP class, including the added bonus on their GPA.
“That is entirely up to the district,” she said in an email. “Grades, quality points, and weighted GPAs are all determined at the local level and within the authority of the local district.”
Frick also said districts could offer the class over two semesters, as intended by the College Board
“It is a full credit unit that districts can offer for a semester (block scheduling) or a full year (traditional/term scheduling). That is how this course code works, and that is how every other course code works (including AP).”
At least one school district, Atlanta Public Schools, has committed to offering the course at the AP level, but other districts are unlikely to do so.
Separate but equal?
Individual teachers can create their own AP course curricula, which are reviewed by the College Board to confirm that the teacher is aware of the course content and what will be on the exam. According to the College Board, some resources, such as practice exams, are only available to teachers of certified courses, and authorized courses are included in the official list of AP courses that colleges check when reviewing high school transcripts.
If students deviate too much from the framework, they may fail the AP exam if there are topics on the test that are not covered.
And structuring a black history class differently than any other class is, to some, including Sahara Prakash, a senior from Forsyth County, a sign of racism.
“The only AP cultural class offered at my school is AP European Studies, which has never been opposed,” she said. “But when it comes to AP African American Studies, our state director says it’s not a priority. This seems to tell us that minority stories in history are less important and valued.”
Erin Crawford, a senior at Cobb County, said she learned about African-American history at home and through books and movies, but not so much in the classroom. The course is not planned to be offered at her school this year.
“As an African American student in Georgia who has never had the opportunity to learn this material in a classroom, I know how valuable it will be to be able to learn Black history in a school as a rigorous subject and receive proper AP accreditation for it. Cutting this class is extremely detrimental not only to African American students, but to all students across the state who have looked forward to and earned this class.”
Cobb County Schools became the first district in Georgia to fire a teacher under the state’s 2022 law that bans the teaching of “divisive concepts” in the classroom. Woods and his office have so far declined to say whether the problems he has with the African-American Advanced Placement program stem from the teaching of divisive concepts.
Education activist and 2020-2021 Georgia Teacher of the Year Tracey Nance said the idea that one AP subject should be determined by community members and others not is absurd.
“If we make that course a discussion, how many other courses are going to be a discussion in the future?” she said. “How many more are students going to miss in Georgia? Or are they just going to be courses that emphasize the voices of blacks and browns?”
Politics
The course has become a flashpoint in culture wars across the country, including in Arkansas, where a lawsuit over the course is underway, and in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would ban the course because he said it was an attempt to indoctrinate children.
Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, sent a letter to Woods on Tuesday asking for information about the decision. Clark received cautious praise.
“First of all, I want to thank Brian Kemp for recognizing that there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and a lot of the questions he had, I had too,” she said. “But the bottom line is, number one, yes, Brian Kemp signed the divisive concepts bill, so he can’t really be off the hook here, and even when he questions things, I question him too, because we can’t deny that this is how we got here in the first place.”
“Brian Kemp and I don’t talk that much, but I do think there are plausible reasons why he wants to be on the right side of history when it comes to these kinds of issues, particularly if he wants to continue to run for office in the state of Georgia,” she added.
Kemp is rumored to be considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2026, when his term as governor expires.
Georgia recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh with questions: (e-mail address)Follow Georgia Recorder on Facebook and X.
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