The College Board reworked the recommended course material for its disputed Advanced Placement course in African American Studies, sharing an updated framework Wednesday that largely preserves the current topics and expands on others, and offers teachers options on subject matter that has drawn scrutiny from some conservatives.
The course, first offered as part of a pilot program to high school students during the 2022-23 school year, covers Black history through an interdisciplinary lens, touching on historical events and figures, as well as music, art, literature and culture. It took about a decade to fully formulate the coursework, according to the College Board, which worked with more than 200 educators at colleges, universities and other institutions across the country.
And while it’s proven wildly popular − 60 schools offered the course in its first pilot year, and about 13,000 students in nearly 700 schools across 40 states are taking it in the second year, 2023-24 − the course also has been condemned by some on the right.
Florida education officials, saying the course “lacked educational value,” rejected the class earlier this year. That decision drew a quick rebuke from Black leaders in Florida and elsewhere. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, campaigning for the Republican nomination for president, has targeted teaching about racism, saying in 2022, “We are not going to use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or to hate each other.” Arkansas…
