Arkansas

According to NBC News, the Arkansas Education Department abruptly removed course credit for an Advanced Placement African American Studies course. This decision was made just months after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a swath of bills limiting what educators can teach in public schools. The course is expected to be offered this academic year. However, the AP African American Studies course won’t be eligible for early college credit in the upcoming school year. Teachers may offer the curriculum, but the class will not be weighted the same. The state says that because the AP course is currently a pilot, "it may not meet graduation requirements, and does not comply with the rules of the department’s AP program like other vetted” courses Kimberly Mundell, the Education Department’s communications director, confirmed. Teachers may offer the curriculum, but the class won’t be weighted the same on students’ grade point averages as other AP courses offered in the state, reported the Arkansas Times, a monthly Little Rock newspaper. "The department encourages the teaching of all American history and supports rigorous courses not based on opinions or indoctrination," she said in a statement. “Arkansas law contains provisions regarding prohibited topics,” she told KHBS, referring to state education restrictions. “Without clarity, we cannot approve a pilot that may unintentionally put a teacher at risk of violating Arkansas law.” In recent years the Republicans have attacked the nations education system as several states restrict what educators can teach about race, gender and sexuality. Sanders signed the LEARNS Act into law, restricting classroom lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation. The policy had been ushered in by Jacob Oliva, the state’s education secretary, in February. In January, Sanders signed an executive order banning “indoctrination and critical race theory” in schools.

Arkansas

Arkansas Education Department Removes Course Credit for AP African American Studies