Ga. superintendent faces ongoing backlash over Black studies move
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Democratic state senators penned a letter to Georgia Superintendent Richard Woods over the Advanced Placement African American Studies course.
The letter said Woods is treating the course on a “separate but equal basis” and demands Woods meet with the senators “to explain why you believe AP African American Studies merits different treatment from other AP courses.”
Senator Nikki Merritt is calling on Woods to call an emergency board meeting to completely reverse his decision to defund the AP course. She says the existing course code is an introductory course, not as rigorous as the AP curriculum.
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“You’re going to have to identify it under just an African American Studies class, right? Okay, well, that’s not sufficient. That’s not what we’re asking. Because we’re still we’re still back to why are we singling out and putting conditions on this particular on our African American AP studies class? And those conditions are not the same for every other AP class that we have,” said Merritt.
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that the Georgia Board of Education refused state funding for the new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies, so some school districts have canceled plans to teach the course to high schoolers.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Richard Woods released a statement, offering state funding for African American Studies, but not the AP course curriculum.
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The statement reads, “There has been an African American Studies course code in the catalog of state-funded courses since 2020. Districts using this course code will receive state funding. 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). When I reviewed the AP course, I had concerns about the state endorsing the totality of the course. 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.”
The concerns from Woods have not been spelled out clearly. Governor Brian Kemp sent an additional letter to Woods with questions about why he made the decision.
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