FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Click Here to access PDF
On Tuesday, July 24th, Georgia State’s Superintendent, Richard Woods, refused to fund the AP African American Studies while providing no justification for doing so. After criticism from the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, the Atlanta City Council, and Governor Brian Kemp, Woods partially reversed course by allowing districts to teach some or all of the AP African American standards under the current code for Introductory African American studies.
While school districts will be able to use the existing course code for Introductory African American studies to get state funding for the course, no other AP course has received this type of mislabeling and students who choose to take the course will not receive the advanced course weighted grade on their GPA.
Additionally, while Fulton, Cobb, and DeKalb County school districts intend to continue offering and funding the AP African American Studies course through alternative methods, if necessary, as of Thursday, July 26th, Gwinnett County schools has not reversed its decision to cancel the course at six high schools. This is especially problematic because Gwinnett County School District is the largest in the state and they continue to offer and fund other AP courses for their students.
We demand that the AP African American Studies course must be coded and funded in the same way as every other AP course. Furthermore, we are calling on Gwinnett County and all other school districts across the nation to reverse their decision in restricting student access to learning about our nation’s full history. Our nation’s youth should not have their educational opportunities be restricted by those who have agendas rooted in divisive identity politics.