College Board: Changes to Black Studies Unrelated to Politics

College Board: Changes to Black Studies Unrelated to Politics

On February 1, the College Board released its official structure, or framework, for a new Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course.

Like other AP classes, the course gives high school students in the United States a chance to receive college credit depending on how they perform in the course exam.

The non-profit organization said in a statement, "The official framework has been under development for nearly a year. It replaces the preliminary pilot course framework under discussion to date..."

The group added that the changes have been shaped "only by the input¹ of experts..." But some experts questioned whether political pressure led to the changes.

Political pressure from Florida

Just two weeks before the College Board released its official framework, education officials in the state of Florida announced that the course would be banned in the state's public high schools.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made education one of his central issues. DeSantis says he opposes education that "indoctrinates" students with liberal ideas. Last year, he signed the "Stop WOKE Act," which limits how race can be taught in Florida public schools. EducationWeek reports that Florida is one of 18 states that have passed similar laws.

The Florida Department of Education said in a letter to the College Board that the course violates state law and "lacks educational value."

Florida released a list of concerns it had with the AP course. They included lessons dealing² with "intersectionality." Intersectionality is the idea that social categories like race, gender³, and class combine to create different levels of discrimination and privilege in society. Other objections included critical race theory and LGBTQ subjects.

What was removed?

Suneal Kolluri researches AP courses for the University of California, Riverside. He wrote in The Conversation that many of the subjects that Florida objected to are no longer in the required framework. Kolluri added, "the current discussions of race, racism⁴ and oppression have disappeared."

Kolluri wrote that writings from Kimberlé Crenshaw, a scholar who started the field of critical race theory, have been removed from the course. And subjects like Black Lives Matter, Black imprisonment⁵ and reparations are now included as optional for research.

The College Board said it did not make the changes because of political reasons. The group said in a statement that it had already made the changes to the course before Florida's Department of Education sent the letter explaining its objections.

The "course has been shaped over years by the most eminent⁶ scholars in the field, not political influence," the statement said. The board said the new framework adds new subjects not fully⁷ represented in the pilot and gives students time to study current issues.

Kerry Haynie is with Duke University's Department of African American Studies and helped develop the course for the College Board. She added in a statement: "We reject any claim that our work either indoctrinates students or, on the other hand, has bowed to political pressure."

Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor is a Black Studies professor at Northwestern University. She rejected the College Board's claim that its decision to change the course framework was not based on politics. Given the many state laws limiting the teaching of race in schools, the College Board wanted to make the course politically safe, she said on the news program Democracy Now!

Yamahtta-Taylor said: "So their explanation that this ... has nothing to do with the political environment is completely unbelievable."

The Florida Department of Education has not said whether it will accept the current version of the course. Before the release of the new framework, a spokesperson for the agency said, "We are glad the College Board ... (expressed) a willingness to" change.

Many in Florida have pushed back against the education department's decision to block the course. Some spoke⁸ at the "Stop the Black Attack" rally in Florida's capital in January.

Juliette Hickman is a high school student who spoke at the rally. Florida lawmakers are "uncomfortable or even afraid of the course," she said. But that "does not grant them the right to take away this opportunity from thousands of students across the state."

Words in This Story

course — n. a series of classes about a particular subject in a school

preliminary — adj. coming before the main part of something

pilot — adj. done as a test to see if a larger program, study, etc., should be done

indoctrinate — v. to teach to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs

privilege — n. a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others

LGBTQ — n.

reparation — n. money that a country or group that loses a war pays because of the damage, injury, deaths, etc., it has caused

optional — adj. available as a choice but not required

eminent — adj. successful, well-known and respected

bow — v. to bend forward at the neck or waist as a formal way of greeting someone or showing respect

opportunity — n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

6 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。