Students enrolled in an AP African American Studies course in the Little Rock School District will be able to take the exam without paying for it, the district said on Wednesday.
“LRSD has taken a proactive step to recognize the importance of diversity and inclusivity in our curriculum,” the district said in a news release.
The district made their announcement after the state Department of Education removed an African American studies class from its course code listings just days before the start of school, a move that drew criticism and required districts to scramble to determine how, if at all, the course might still be offered.
The state has traditionally paid for students’ test fees for AP courses in Arkansas’ course code catalog.
Six schools in Arkansas planned to offer the course, according to the College Board. Besides Central High School, they are: the Academies at Jonesboro High School, North Little Rock High School, North Little Rock Center Of Excellence, eSTEM High School and Jacksonville High School.
In their release, the Little Rock district said it would “ensure students will not have to pay for the exam,” though administrators did not immediately specify where the funds for the test would come from.
Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said Tuesday he would commit to raising the money for students who want to take the exam.
However, he later added on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “not prepared to start raising funds just yet.” He instead urged the state to pay for the AP class’s exams, “as is the case with every other AP course in Arkansas approved by the College Board.”
Should that not happen, though, he said he was confident that Arkansans would “step up to help our students.”
District officials, who confirmed Tuesday that students at Little Rock Central High School would still be able to take the course for “local weighted credit,” said that weight would be “the same as all other AP courses.”
The second-year pilot course will be taught at Central High School by Ruthie Walls, whom the district called “one of the foremost subject matter experts.”
Walls is a veteran Arkansas social studies and economics teacher and former charter high school director. After the course first came under scrutiny earlier this year for possible violation of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ executive order prohibiting “indoctrination and critical race theory in schools,” she defended the course to the Central High School Tiger newspaper.
Although state Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, in an interview on Monday, said there is “a clear delineation between African American History and African American Studies,” Walls described the course as one that is about, at least in part, history.
“I hope they will take a look at the framework and recognize that it is history, it is rich history, that everyone has the right to learn if they so please,” Walls told the student-run Central High Tiger in a late-January article by Sophia Finkbeiner.
Administrators on Wednesday stressed the importance of the course, as well as how it relates to the campus where it is being taught.
“AP African American Studies will allow students to explore the complexities, contributions, and narratives that have shaped the African American experience throughout history, including Central High School’s integral connection,” the release stated.
The school was the site of the 1957 desegregation crisis, when nine Black students desegregated the school under federal protection.
Jonesboro School District Superintendent Kim Wilbanks said Wednesday that her district will also offer the class to students at the Academies at Jonesboro High School for local weighted credit. The district will also “seek outside funding to pay for the exams,” which will be available for students to take upon completion of the course.
“The District feels that continuing to offer the pilot course is the best decision for our students,” Wilbanks said in an email on Wednesday.
Administrators met with the students enrolled in the course, a majority of whom said they wanted to take the AP-level class, according to Wilbanks.
No students needed the credit to meet their graduation requirements, she said.
According to Wilbanks, the Department of Education confirmed the district could offer the class as a local weighted course.
“Stacy Smith with the [Division of Elementary and Secondary Education] was very helpful,” she said.
North Little Rock School District spokesman Dustin Barnes said in an email Wednesday afternoon the district was “still working on communication to provide to our students and families.”
Administrators at the other three schools did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment on their plans regarding the course.
Smith, the state division’s deputy commissioner, did not respond to a message sent Wednesday seeking additional information about the agency’s communication with affected districts. Messages left Tuesday with Oliva, Education Department spokeswoman Kimberly Mundell and state Board of Education Chairwoman Sarah Moore seeking similar information were not returned.
Information for this article was contributed by Cynthia Howell of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
This story has updated. It was originally published at 5:16 p.m. under the headline "Little Rock students won't pay for African American studies test, district says; Jonesboro schools to seek 'outside funding'."