Gwinnett schools not offering AP African American Studies course after confusion from state

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County NAACP is demanding that the state superintendent approve AP African American Studies at Georgia high schools.

A growing group of organizations fear students who take the course won’t get full credit.

Gwinnett schools will not be offering the class because of the confusion that district leaders said the state superintendent caused. Dr. Richard Woods had concerns about the “totality” of the course amid growing backlash.

Gwinnett County School Board member and parent Dr. Tarece Johnson-Morgan is joining a growing number of organizations calling for changes to AP African American studies in Georgia schools.

“We have to stand together and say no to the anti-black racism that’s in our legislation,” Johnson-Morgan said. “We have to fight for this change.”

Last week, it was reported that Woods did not recommend the AP African American course for approval statewide. He then said the course would receive state funding, but would not get its own course code.

Gwinnett County Schools is not offering the course this school year over concerns students would not get AP credit at the end of the year.

Johnson-Morgan said that in her personal opinion, the course is being singled out.

“We want AP credit for African American studies,” she said.

Johnson asked the state Department of Education if the course code concerns are causing confusion. A spokesperson said:

“Use of the existing state course code allows districts to offer parts of or the entire AP African American Studies course, with state funding.”

DeKalb, Cobb and Atlanta Public Schools all said they will offer the AP course with local funds.

On Tuesday, the Gwinnett NAACP released a statement reading:

“If Superintendent Woods seeks to rectify this situation, he must reinstate the state code for the African American AP course. Anything less is mere window dressing and fails to restore the course to its rightful status as an AP course, equivalent to all other AP courses in the state catalog.”

When Johnson asked if there are plans to add a separate course code, he didn’t get a response from the State Department of Education.

The Gwinnett County Superintendent issued a statement to students. The statement reads in full:

“Last week, we announced that Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) would not be able to offer the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course in our schools this year. This decision was made as a direct result of the exclusion of the course from the Georgia Department of Education’s list of state-approved courses. State-approved AP courses award students additional grade point average (GPA) benefits that impact HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship eligibility. After our announcement, the state provided updated guidance regarding funding, course number assignment, and the flexibility to embed AP African American Studies topics in our Introduction to African American Studies course. The solutions offered provide a path for students to be exposed to the content and rigorous coursework; however, they fall short of addressing our concern that their GPAs would not be calculated the same way as students completing other AP courses in Georgia.

We believe that access to rigorous coursework is beneficial in preparing every student for post-secondary success, and we remain committed to offering advanced course opportunities that represent the diverse interests of our more than 50,000 high school students. Withholding state approval for this AP course sends the message that the contributions and experiences of African Americans are not worthy of academic study at the same level as other approved AP courses.

Team GCPS will continue to advocate for the full approval of the AP African American Studies course statewide. We remain in contact with the State Superintendent and the State Board of Education in hopes that this decision will be reversed. Thank you for your time, understanding, and support.

In partnership and service,

Dr. Calvin J. Watts

Superintendent

Gwinnett County Public Schools”