The Arkansas Department of Education has moved to remove credit from the new AP African American Studies course days before the upcoming school year is set to begin.
According to the Arkansas Times, the AP African American studies course, which was piloted at 60 schools across this country this year, will no longer count as credit toward high school graduation requirements and students will have to pay their own test fees to qualify for college course credit.
Teachers are still able to offer the course, but state education officials have seemingly removed all incentives for students to enroll in class. The state won’t recognize the African American Studies course on the same level as other AP classes, meaning it will not give students to opportunity to add an extra bump to their GPAs by taking the course.
The state’s Department of Education announced the decision on Friday (August 11), two days before the 2023-2024 school year was scheduled to begin, per the Arkansas Times.
In a series of tweets, Alexa Henning, the communications director for Governor Sarah Sanders, said the AP African American studies class “is a pilot (as defined by the AP program) still undergoing revisions, it’s not a history course.”
“The pilot may not meet graduation requirements and does not comply with the rules of the department’s AP program like other vetted course(s)” Henning continued.
“There is currently an African American History class students can receive credit for,” she added. “The department encourages the teaching of all American history and supports rigorous courses not based on opinions or indoctrination.”
The decision to nix credit from the African American Studies course comes after Sanders signed the LEARNS Act in March, restricting classroom discussions on gender and sexual orientation. In January, Sanders banned “indoctrination and critical race theory” in schools through an executive order.
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