by Alexa Schwerha
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is the latest governor to call for a review of a controversial Advanced Placement (AP) course that was recently revised to remove tenets of Critical Race Theory and queer studies, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Youngkin asked the state education department to conduct a review of AP African American Studies to ensure the course, which was revised on Feb. 1, complies with state law prohibiting the use of “divisive concepts,” including CRT, in K-12 schools, according to WTOP News. College Board, which manages advanced placement courses, removed several concepts from the course after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration rejected the framework, but maintains that it did so without political pressure.
“After numerous reports about draft course content, the governor asked the Education Secretariat to review the College Board’s proposed AP African American Studies course as it pertains to Executive Order 1,” Porter told the DCNF.
AP African American Studies is currently in its pilot stage and being tested at various high schools in the country through 2024, the College Board website reads. It was first tested at 60 schools during the 2022-2023 academic year and intended to expand to “hundreds” of high schools during 2023-2024 before it can be offered in all public high schools the following academic year.
The selection of offered AP courses is made by local school divisions and not by the state Board of Education, a source familiar with the matter told the DCNF. Learning standards and curriculum, on the other hand, do go through the state Department of Education.
The DeSantis administration’s concerns that the course pushed CRT and “Black Queer Studies” drew national attention to the course and several states are now pledging to conduct their own reviews, following the Sunshine State’s lead. Mississippi, North Dakota and Arkansas’ governors also announced the course would be reviewed to determine whether the new content violates any state laws, The Washington Post reported.
Montana, Texas, Georgia and South Carolina hinted that current plans to not review the course could change, according to the Post.
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Feb. 14 he would expand AP African American Studies to 26 public schools and called out DeSantis for putting “political culture wars ahead of academic success.”
“While the DeSantis Administration stated that AP African American Studies ‘significantly lacks educational value’, New Jersey will stand on the side of teaching our full history,” Murphy said in the press release.
Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in January that the state would not approve the course if College Board revised the syllabi to fit Florida’s standard.
College Board did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
– – –
Alexa Schwerha is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin. Background Photo “Classroom” by Wokandapix.
