Georgia’s largest school district says that it won’t teach a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies. The Gwinnett County school system says the state Department of Education’s refusal to approve the course means its students would be cheated out of credit for the difficulty of the work. The decision by the 183,000-student district means political pressure on state Superintendent Richard Woods is unlikely to ease. Woods attempted to compromise by saying local districts could draw state money to teach the AP material by labeling it as a lower-level introductory course. If districts teach the course under the introductory code, students won’t get the credit an AP course carries in determining eligibility for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship.
