The College Board says changes will be made to its new AP African American studies course, after critics said the agency caved to political pressure and removed several topics from the framework, including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life.
in a monday statementThe College Board said the development committee and experts tasked with creating the Advanced Placement course «will determine the details of those changes in the coming months.»
“We are committed to providing an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture,” the company said.
It is unclear what the changes are or when they will be made public.
The course gained national attention this winter when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said that ban the course in your state because he pushed a political agenda.
“In the state of Florida, our educational standards not only do not prevent, but require that black history be taught, all the important stuff. That’s part of our core curriculum,» DeSantis previously said. «We want education and not indoctrination.»
But the official syllabus for the course, released after the DeSantis administration rejected it, downplayed some components that had drawn objections from the governor and other conservatives. The College Board faced an onslaught of criticism from African-American activists and academics outraged by the idea that the course was turned because of the political controversy.
The course has launched in 60 schools in the US and will expand to 800 schools and 16,000 students this coming school year.
The nonprofit testing company previously said the course reviews were substantially complete and not swayed by political influence before DeSantis shared his objections. College Board officials said the developers consulted with faculty at more than 200 universities, including several historically black institutions, and received input from teachers piloting the class.
The company said Monday that the course’s creation had prioritized access to a discipline not widely available to high school students, as well as bringing that content to as many students as possible, a possible reference to students in targeted states. by conservatives. «Unfortunately,» the nonprofit testing company said, those two goals «came into conflict.»
The College Board offers AP courses across the academic spectrum, including math, science, social studies, foreign languages, and fine arts. Courses are optional and are taught at the university level. Students who score high enough on the final exam usually earn course credit at their university.