The Arkansas Department of Education is currently investigating an Advanced Placement (AP) pilot course focused on African American studies for potential Critical Race Theory (CRT) content.
According to reports from The Associated Press, Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva has requested course materials from five school districts offering the AP African American course.
The College Board, an academic organization responsible for creating high school courses for college credit, drafted the course.
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The state is evaluating whether the course aligns with its ban on Critical Race Theory, a controversial theoretical framework that examines systemic racism and challenges traditional views on race and history. The investigation comes after the state initially indicated that the course was not approved and would not count toward college credit.
Despite this, the five school districts had chosen to continue teaching the course.
The course previously faced criticism in Florida due to its inclusion of topics like queer theory. After debates over the course’s appropriateness, the College Board revised it in April.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, issued an executive order in January that banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the state. The order prohibited mandatory CRT training for schools and employees.
Education Secretary Oliva has asked the school districts to provide syllabi, textbooks, and training materials associated with the course by September 8. Since the course is a pilot, it has not yet been reviewed by the state.
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“Given some of the themes included in the pilot, including ‘intersections of identity’ and ‘resistance and resilience’ the Department is concerned the pilot may not comply with Arkansas law, which does not permit teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory,” Oliva wrote in the letter. The letter was first reported by the Arkansas Advocate website, according to the AP.
Critical Race Theory posits that systemic racism is deeply ingrained in American society and institutions, leading to unequal outcomes for different racial groups.
The framework has sparked intense debates in education and politics, with proponents arguing for its role in acknowledging historical inequities and opponents expressing concerns about its potential to perpetuate division and reductive racial categorizations.
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