ATLANTA– Georgia’s state superintendent of schools said Wednesday he believes a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies violates state law that prohibits teaching divisive racial concepts. He explains that this is why he will not recommend making it an approved state course.
Until now, Richard Woods, the state’s elected Republican superintendent, has not explained why he blocked the course’s approval. Some districts have said they will offer it anyway, but others have canceled their plans.
“After reviewing the content, it was clear that portions of the course material violated the law,” said Woods, who had raised only vague concerns for 10 days.
Georgia’s ban in 2022 teaching divisive racial concepts in schools, under a now-rescinded executive order from President Donald Trump, prohibits claims that the U.S. is “fundamentally or systematically racist.” It mandates that no student “should feel discomfort, guilt, fear, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race.” So far, 18 states have passed such bans.
The Advanced Placement course gained national attention in 2023 when Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he ban the course in his state. In June, South Carolina officials also refused to approve the course. South Carolina said individual districts could still offer it.
The College Board is a nonprofit organization that offers Advanced Placement courses across the academic spectrum. Students who score well on an exam can typically earn college credit. Spokesperson Holly Stepp said the African American Studies course is “a dynamic and robust course rooted in academic scholarship,” and denied that it is intended to indoctrinate students.
“AP students are expected to analyze perspectives different from their own, and no points are awarded on an AP exam for agreeing with a position,” Stepp said.
Woods’ claim contradicts a specific exemption in Georgia law for Advanced Placement and other high-level college courses. State Rep. Will Wade, a Dawsonville Republican and former school board member who authored the law, pointed to the exception that allows such concepts in AP courses to be taught over text message.
Even more confusing, Woods has said that school districts could teach the AP material and get government money by listing it as an introductory African American studies course approved by the state in 2020. Woods took that stance after previously saying that districts should teach the course using only local taxes.
But on Wednesday, Woods said that teaching the AP material using the introductory course could expose a district to legal challenges under Georgia law. So Woods could put districts in legal jeopardy by denying the AP course, while he could protect them legally by approving it.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Democrat from Grayson and a critic of Woods.
The superintendent said he was seeking a legal opinion from Attorney General Chris Carr on whether the exception would protect AP courses. “Should the ruling reverse my decision, I will follow the law,” Woods said in his statement. But Meghan Frick, a spokesperson for Woods, said that does not mean Woods will recommend the course for approval by the state Board of Education if Carr’s office gives it legal support.
Woods has faced not only attacks from Democrats, but also pointed questions from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. A spokesman for Kemp declined to comment Wednesday when asked whether the governor believes the course violates state law.
By law, people who allege a violation that is not resolved locally can appeal to the state Board of Education. The board can order a corrective action plan, and a district can lose exemptions from state rules if it fails to comply. Districts rely on those exemptions to set local policies.
Since the law came into effect, no appeals have been filed with the Council of State, according to Frick.
Woods, who is white, said he was particularly concerned about how the course presents the concept of intersectionality, a framework for understanding the effects of overlapping systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Black women, for example, can face compounding disadvantages because of their race and gender.
“If the Advanced Placement course had presented a comparative narrative with opposing viewpoints on this and other topics, it could be argued that the course did not violate Georgia law,” Woods said in a statement.
Stepp said intersectionality is one of 74 required topics in the course.
Mikayla Arciaga, who leads Georgia advocacy for the Intercultural Development Research Association, called for the repeal of the divisive concepts law. “Being black in America should not be a divisive concept,” she said in a statement.
The Atlanta, DeKalb County and Cobb County school districts have all indicated they will offer the course in some high schools.
The state’s largest county, Gwinnett County, said on tuesday that it would not offer the course. That’s because students would not receive the credit that an approved AP course provides when determining a student’s eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship merit program.