Georgia superintendent says Black studies course can be taught after legal opinion

Georgia Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods speaks at a podium.
Georgia Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods speaks to reporters, Jan. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)

Updated at 5:40 p.m.

Georgia’s Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods now says school districts may teach a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies after all, now that Georgia’s attorney general said the state’s law against teaching divisive racial concepts specifically exempts such college-level courses.

Woods said Wednesday that a letter from Attorney General Chris Carr to a Republican state lawmaker “completed the clarification process” for him. Woods had cited the law in refusing to recommend the course be added to the state’s course catalog.