ATLANTA — With school due to start back up in a few days, educators are howling at a state decision to eliminate an Advance Placement (AP) African American studies class from high schools.
Critics say the decision smacks of politics.
Word of this slipped out when Gwinnett County school officials abruptly announced they had to pull an AP African American studies class that had been on the books for over 200 students and teachers this fall. Advanced Placement means students can use the class to obtain college credit.
"I definitely feel like they wasted my time," said Central Gwinnett High School teacher Mallory Fannin. She says she spent an entire week this summer preparing to teach an AP African American studies class.
"They spent almost $900 for me to attend this institute," Fannin said. "And the next week, I find out that this class won’t even exist."
The class went away after the state abruptly pulled funding for it.
The Georgia Department of Education (DOE) says the AP African American history course was a limited-time pilot course that concluded last school year.
“Superintendent Richard Woods has opted not to recommend this course for state approval at this time,” wrote a DOE spokeswoman, without further explanation.
In the last two years, Republicans at the State Capitol have openly resisted diversity-driven school curricula.
“It’s a litmus test that asks you to subscribe to essentially the 'woke agenda' that’s part of the battle we’re facing in education all over the country," State Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) previously said in February 2023.
"This is the impact of these decisions," said James Woodall, former president of the Georgia NAACP, on Tuesday. "It is removing the heritage of African Americans from this state’s curriculum. This is what that does."
A state DOE spokeswoman noted that there remain several African American studies courses funded in Georgia high schools, even with the removal of the pilot Advanced Placement African American studies course.
Fannin says students of all races were due to take her now-canceled class starting in a few days.
"It was just really cool to see how many more students were interested in this course," Fannin said. "I was super excited to teach this course, super prepared. I already had my syllabus. And then, I was hit with the news."
Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent Calvin Watts issued a statement saying in part: "The 2023-24 AP African American Studies pilot was successful, and we are disappointed that students will neither have the opportunity to take, nor to receive credit for this innovative college-level course.”
The Georgia Association of Educators points out that the state has continued to approve AP European history classes – even as it cancels the AP African American studies class.