{"id":106702,"date":"2024-08-08T00:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T00:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T00:04:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T00:04:02","slug":"georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
PixelsEffect\/Getty Images <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Georgia Schools Superintendent Richard Woods announced on Wednesday that the state will restore public funding for Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies to be taught in public schools after seeking “guidance and clarity” from the state\u2019s attorney general regarding whether state law permits its inclusion in the state-approved course catalog.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to the Georgia Department of Education website, the Republican school chief said that “It has \u201cbeen determined that this law shall not restrict local school systems from adopting any AP, IB, or dual enrollment course,\u201d as long as \u201cthese courses are implemented \u2018in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs,\u2019\u201d as outlined by the law.<\/p>\n

“As I have said, I will follow the law. In compliance with this opinion, the AP African American Studies course will be added to the state-funded course catalog effective immediately,” Woods’ statement continued.<\/p>\n

In his decision last month to pull public funding for the course, Woods cited Georgia’s House Bill 1084, Republican-backed legislation that became law in 2002 and that banned teaching \u201cdivisive concepts\u201d in public school, including numerous concepts dealing with race and racism, including what is generally described as institutional racism.<\/p>\n

But on Wednesday, Woods said that his decision to reverse course is based on a determination by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who said in a letter sent to “the sponsor of [HB 1084]” that “this law shall not restrict local school systems from adopting any AP, IB, or dual enrollment course,” and that “Each such course will be exempted from the provisions of the divisive concepts legislation, so long as these courses are implemented \u201cin a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods’ statement did not name HB 1084’s sponsor, but the bill was authored by state Rep. Will Wade.<\/p>\n

Carr said in that letter, which was obtained by ABC News, that HB 1084 was “not to be construed or applied to somehow prohibit the implementation of advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or dual enrollment coursework.”<\/p>\n

“The only limitations placed on such coursework by [HB 1084] are that it is implemented ‘in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs.'”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Carr told ABC News on Wednesday that the letter reflects his view on state funding for the AP African American studies course.<\/p>\n

ABC News reached out to Wade’s office for further comment, but the request was not immediately returned.<\/p>\n

A representative for the Georgia Senate told ABC News that despite the reversal, Democratic lawmakers from both of the state’s legislative chambers are still expected to hold a previously scheduled hearing on the issue on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 July 23 decision to prohibit the teaching of AP African American studies in Georgia public schools was met with weeks of backlash from state Democratic lawmakers, educators and students, who urged the superintendent to reverse his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, we knew that Woods was wrong,\u201d Democratic Sen. Nikki Merritt wrote Wednesday on X. \u201cThis is a victory today for our students, teachers, and Black History demonstrating the potential of community involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merritt previously criticized Woods\u2019 decision during a July 24 press conference at the Georgia State Capitol, where a group of Democratic lawmakers and advocates called on Woods to restore funding for the AP African American studies course and argued that it has been unfairly targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis course is the only AP course removed. And we’re left wondering why. I can tell you it’s not about funding,\u201d Merritt said during the event.<\/p>\n

While the state rejected funding for the AP course, school districts still had the option to offer courses on African American studies as a topic, but Merritt said that was \u201cnot good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExplain to me why this course is being singled out and is no longer eligible for state funds,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Woods said in his statement Wednesday that the exemption will require that a disclaimer be added to all AP courses in the Georgia course catalog, which in part says that “Advanced Placement (AP) courses and their instructional frameworks and curriculum are solely owned and endorsed by the College Board. The contents of these courses have not been reviewed or approved by the Georgia Department of Education.”<\/p>\n

The disclaimer further advises school districts to “use a process for reviewing, approving, and adopting AP courses and instructional frameworks that engages students, parents, educators, and community stakeholders.”<\/p>\n

“Curricula and training should abide by state and local policies, including House Bill 1084 \u2013 which requires that the curriculum of exempted AP courses be implemented in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs,\u201d the disclaimer concludes.<\/p>\n

The inclusion of AP African American studies in public schooling has become a politically charged topic in many states. Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas have also recently pulled public funding for the course.<\/p>\n

ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PixelsEffect\/Getty Images Georgia Schools Superintendent Richard Woods announced on Wednesday that the state will restore public funding for Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies to be taught in public schools after seeking “guidance and clarity” from the state\u2019s attorney general regarding whether state law permits its inclusion in the state-approvedRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,31,2],"tags":[273,271,276,274,270,123,275,133,124,272,102,103],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TALK, DONE RIGHT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TALK, DONE RIGHT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewsTalkLC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/syndication.abcaudio.com\/files\/2024-08-07\/CLASSROOM.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ABC News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newstalklc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newstalklc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ABC News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ABC News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/bfa4e6a14d1fcf4a939c3260298ef5b7\"},\"headline\":\"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\"},\"wordCount\":835,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"92.7 FM\",\"AM 1450\",\"CONVERVATIVE TALK\",\"DONE RIGHT\",\"KOBE\",\"Las Cruces\",\"LAS CRUCES CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO\",\"las cruces talk radio\",\"New Mexico\",\"NEWS TALK\",\"talk\",\"talk radio\"],\"articleSection\":[\"All News\",\"National News\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\",\"name\":\"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"TALK, DONE RIGHT\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/\",\"name\":\"FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE\",\"description\":\"Talk Done Right\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization\",\"name\":\"News Talk 92.7 and AM 1450 KOBE\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/official-news-talk-square-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/official-news-talk-square-2.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"News Talk 92.7 and AM 1450 KOBE\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewsTalkLC\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/newstalklc\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcv85Bxj9WRRnL0O3xii6IQ\/videos\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/bfa4e6a14d1fcf4a939c3260298ef5b7\",\"name\":\"ABC News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fba9c0649b69c3d5b53142437429a66?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fba9c0649b69c3d5b53142437429a66?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ABC News\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/author\/abcnews\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE","description":"TALK, DONE RIGHT","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE","og_description":"TALK, DONE RIGHT","og_url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/","og_site_name":"FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewsTalkLC","article_published_time":"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/syndication.abcaudio.com\/files\/2024-08-07\/CLASSROOM.jpg"}],"author":"ABC News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@newstalklc","twitter_site":"@newstalklc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ABC News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/"},"author":{"name":"ABC News","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/bfa4e6a14d1fcf4a939c3260298ef5b7"},"headline":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course","datePublished":"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/"},"wordCount":835,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization"},"keywords":["92.7 FM","AM 1450","CONVERVATIVE TALK","DONE RIGHT","KOBE","Las Cruces","LAS CRUCES CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO","las cruces talk radio","New Mexico","NEWS TALK","talk","talk radio"],"articleSection":["All News","National News","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/","url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/","name":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-08T00:04:02+00:00","description":"TALK, DONE RIGHT","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/georgia-school-chief-says-state-will-restore-public-funding-for-ap-african-american-studies-course\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Georgia school chief says state will restore public funding for AP African American studies course"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/","name":"FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE","description":"Talk Done Right","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#organization","name":"News Talk 92.7 and AM 1450 KOBE","url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/official-news-talk-square-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/official-news-talk-square-2.png","width":1024,"height":450,"caption":"News Talk 92.7 and AM 1450 KOBE"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewsTalkLC","https:\/\/twitter.com\/newstalklc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcv85Bxj9WRRnL0O3xii6IQ\/videos"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/bfa4e6a14d1fcf4a939c3260298ef5b7","name":"ABC News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fba9c0649b69c3d5b53142437429a66?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fba9c0649b69c3d5b53142437429a66?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ABC News"},"url":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/author\/abcnews\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}