ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia’s largest college district introduced Tuesday that it will not educate a brand new Superior Placement course in African American Research, saying the state Division of Training’s refusal to approve the course means its college students can be cheated out of credit score for the problem of the work.
The choice by the 183,000-student Gwinnett County district means political stress on state Superintendent Richard Woods is unlikely to ease. Woods tried to compromise final week by saying native districts might draw state cash to show the AP materials by labeling it as a lower-level introductory course. That got here a day after Woods mentioned districts must educate the course utilizing solely native tax cash.
“Withholding state approval for this AP course sends the message that the contributions and experiences of African People usually are not worthy of educational examine on the identical stage as different permitted AP programs,” Gwinnett County Superintendent Calvin Watts mentioned in a press release.
A spokesperson for Woods did not instantly reply to an e mail looking for remark Tuesday night.
The Atlanta, DeKalb County and Cobb County college districts have all mentioned they’re providing the course in some excessive colleges. However Gwinnett County is possibly essentially the most influential district within the state, with others typically following the lead of a system that incorporates greater than a tenth of all Georgia public college college students.
Woods has confronted a rally the place Democrats attacked the elected Republican, in addition to pointed questions from Gov. Brian Kemp. The Republican Kemp despatched a letter asking why and the way Woods arrived at his authentic resolution to dam state funding. Woods responded to Kemp Thursday, however nonetheless hasn’t totally defined his objections.
“My major concern and consideration was whether or not it was extra applicable to undertake the AP course in its 440-page totality on the state stage, or to make use of the present African American Research course code and maintain the evaluate, approval, adoption, and supply of this curriculum nearer to native college students, educators, mother and father, and boards,” Woods wrote to Kemp.
All different AP programs are listed within the state catalog, state Division of schooling (link homepage) spokesperson Meghan Frick mentioned final week.
If districts educate the course beneath the introductory code, college students will not get the extra credit that an AP course carries when the Georgia Scholar Finance Fee calculates grades to find out whether or not a scholar is eligible for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship. It additionally will not rely as a rigorous course. A student who retains a B common in highschool and takes at the least 4 rigorous programs earns a full tuition scholarship to any Georgia public school or college.
“Gwinnett is working tirelessly to do proper by their college students,” state Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Lilburn Democrat who’s Black and helped spearhead pushback in opposition to Woods. “As a mum or dad of GCPS scholar, all I would like for my youngster is to have the identical alternatives as college students taking different AP programs, ought to she select to wish to be taught extra concerning the contributions of her ancestors in a rigorous, college-level course.”
The Superior Placement course drew nationwide scrutiny in 2023 when Florida´s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, making ready for his presidential run, mentioned he would ban the course in his state as a result of it pushed a political agenda. In June, South Carolina officers additionally refused to approve the course. South Carolina mentioned particular person districts might nonetheless supply it.
In Arkansas, state officers have mentioned the course will rely for credit score within the coming college 12 months. They denied such credit score final 12 months, however six colleges taught the pilot course anyway.
Some particular person districts across the nation have additionally rejected the course.
In 2022, Georgia lawmakers handed a ban on educating divisive racial ideas in colleges, prohibiting claims that the U.S. is “basically or systematically racist,” and mandating that no scholar “ought to really feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another type of psychological misery due to his or her race.”
Thus far, 18 states have handed such bans. It’s unclear if Georgia´s legislation influenced Woods´ resolution.
The School Board, a nonprofit testing entity, affords Superior Placement programs throughout the tutorial spectrum. The programs are optionally available and taught at a university stage. College students who rating nicely on a last examination can often earn school credit score.
The School Board mentioned 33 Georgia colleges piloted the African American Research course within the 2023-2024 educational 12 months.
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