The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has requested content from the national organization of the College Board for the content of a continuing education course in African American studies that is currently being offered at 60 schools across the country, including two in Arkansas.

Questions about the course at Little Rock Central High School and the academies at Jonesboro High School are prompted by recent executive orders, including an executive order to “prohibit indoctrination and critical racial theory in schools” issued by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on her first day of school . office.

Critical race theory is defined by Wikipedia as an interdisciplinary study of how laws, social and political movements, and the media shape—and are shaped—social representations of race and ethnicity.

Kimberley Mundell, director of public affairs for the state’s elementary and secondary education department, said Friday the agency contacted the College Board – the maker of the African American Studies course – to get information about the course in light of Sanders. ‘ call for a comprehensive review of training materials.

“We will review the information and evaluate the course at the end of this year’s pilot to ensure that students are learning the actual history and that participation translates into college credit that is beneficial to students,” Mundell said.

Attempts to contact school district leaders in Little Rock and Jonesboro by email late Friday night for comment about the African American Studies course at their schools were unsuccessful.

Inquiries in Arkansas about the African American Studies course came not only after Sanders’ order, but also after senior officials in Florida, where the course is also piloting, rejected the course last week for violating that state’s law prohibiting the teaching of critical subjects. racial theory.

The College Board responded that long-planned changes to the African American Studies course would be released on Wednesday, as the start of what is widely recognized by schools and other organizations as Black History Month.

The College Board says the changes are standard in the development and testing of any new Advanced Placement course.

The newly revised African American Studies course is due to be piloted for a second year in the 2023-2024 school year, with the expectation that the course will become available to any interested school system in the country starting in the 2024-25 school year. The college council say.

The College Board has long offered dozens of Advanced Placement courses with related exams. The courses cover a wide range of subject areas and are designed to be academically challenging college-level courses that provide high school students with the opportunity to earn college credit during their high school years.

Typically, college credit hours or admission to higher level college courses are awarded at Advanced Placement 3, 4, or 5 grades in year-end exams.

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Sanders’ Jan. 10 executive order did not specify any specific exchange rate to be assessed.

Instead, the Governor directed the Arkansas Secretary of Education to “review the Department of Education’s rules, regulations, policies, materials, and communications to identify any elements that may, intentionally or otherwise, promote learning that will indoctrinate students, such as [critical race theory ]that violates the principle of equal protection under law or encourages discrimination against students based on color, religion, race, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, disability, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law “.

Sanders’ executive order also states that if any items are found “contrary to the principle of equal protection under law,” the state secretary of education is directed to “correct, repeal, or modify these rules, regulations, policies, materials, or communications to eliminate prohibited indoctrination.”

The Arkansas Minister of Education is Jacob Oliva, who, until Sanders brought him into her cabinet, was the senior chancellor of the Florida Department of Education.

The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education provided correspondence between the agency and the College Board regarding the course in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request made by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

On Wednesday, Crystal Niall, program director of the Arkansas Office of Gifted and Talented and Advanced Workers, wrote to College Council’s Lana Sweda saying state agency leaders have requested more information about the African American Studies course, which is being taught in two pilot classes. schools, with additional schools expressing interest in joining the pilot in the 2023-24 school year.

“Our attention was brought to the attention related to the content of the course,” Nail wrote. “The DESE leadership is asking for more information about the aims and content of the course.

“Given the recent executive orders … DESE management needs to immediately review the course content and objectives to ensure that the course does not disrupt any schools. We appreciate this information being provided as soon as possible,” wrote Nail.

Sweda, director of the Council of Colleges for State-District Partnerships, responded Thursday, telling Niall that the Advanced Placement Program will release “the official framework for the AP course in African American studies” on Wednesday.

“The College Board supports our proposal to talk to you and your colleagues about structure and course,” Sveda said. “Let us know if you’d like to make an appointment.”

Sveda has included a link to an email sent last week to Advanced Placement members announcing the release of the course structure on Wednesday.

“The official framework has been under development for almost a year,” the email says. “It will replace the draft pilot course structure being discussed to date and define what students will face on the AP exam for credit and college placement.

“We have been working and planning this day for many months and will mark this milestone with a celebration at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on February 2nd,” the letter reads.

The document went on to explain the course organization process, which was completed last month.

“To develop this formal course structure, the AP Program consulted with more than 300 African American Studies professors from more than 200 colleges across the country, including dozens of historically black colleges and universities,” the letter said.

To be clear, no state or county has seen an official framework, the organization said. “This course has only been shaped by the input of experts and the long standing principles and practices of AP.”

The letter describes the framework as historical and noteworthy, and encourages people to read the material on their own when it is released.

“As we share the structure of the course…the public will see the extraordinary stories, artwork, papers, and debates at the heart of AP African American history and culture,” the letter reads.

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