Georgia should approve AP course in African American Studies
STATEMENT FROM SEF – July 25, 2024
Contact: Alan Richard, arichard@southerneducation.org, (202) 641-1300
The Southern Education Foundation urges the Georgia state school superintendent to reconsider his decision not to approve the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course for the new school year.
The AP course explores the experiences of Black Americans in the context of American history. By selectively not approving this course, the state is limiting how students learn about Black American history, culture, and experiences.
These topics are essential knowledge for today’s students and contribute to their preparation for college and the workforce. Yet this is the only AP course that Georgia (and a few other states) will not approve, to our knowledge. This is entirely unacceptable.
Hundreds of students in Georgia state had already enrolled in the course, and the school year begins for many students next week. Students and their schools now face scheduling disruptions after this last-minute decision.
All AP courses are developed by the College Board in consultation with leading scholars and classroom teachers across the country, then piloted for an entire school year. The Atlanta Public Schools and other districts in the state piloted the course last school year.
While the state superintendent has not disclosed the reasons for his decision — which all Georgians deserve to know — he may cite the state’s misguided, vague, and potentially unconstitutional “divisive concepts” law that legislators passed in 2022.
Our leaders should always protect students’ right to learn and guard against political censorship or interference. Barring or removing these topics from schools threatens to turn back the clock on racial progress and civil rights in America. The decision also impacts a state with one of the nation’s largest African American populations and ignores Atlanta’s prominence as a center of the Civil Rights Movement.
The state’s decision to treat this course — and the students, educators, and communities that wish to participate — differently than others cannot stand.
As an elected leader, the state superintendent should be responsive to the needs of all students. He should immediately reverse the decision not to approve AP African American Studies in Georgia.
Note: The state has explained that schools can use state funds to offer the AP course, but must use alternate course codes. This is because the AP course has still not been officially approved by the state superintendent.