Harford school board denies African American studies course due to content concerns

Harford County Public Schools will not offer Advanced Placement African American Studies next year after school board members expressed concerns about course content, calling it “divisive” and too political.

The course, along with Women in Perspective and Sixth Grade Social Sciences, was brought before the Harford Board of Education Monday night. Each of the current curriculums was subject to updates that board members voted on.

AP African American Studies is a year-long, elective course offered at Bel Air, Aberdeen and Joppatowne high schools. The course focuses on the history, humanity, arts, literature, political science and geography of African American culture.

The framework for the course is set by the College Board, which oversees all Advanced Placement courses. Each Harford teacher teaching the course is required to submit a course syllabus to the College Board for approval.

Harford schools cannot change the nature or content of the course, which irked five of the board’s nine members, who took issue with the content. .

“We need an African American AP course, but this is not it,” said board member Terry Kocher. “When I first heard of this course, I wished I could take it but after seeing the curriculum, I was very disappointed with the topics being politically oriented that perpetuate the message of oppressed versus the oppressor.”

Kocher’s concerns were echoed by board member Lauren Strauss and the board’s vice president, Melissa Hahn, who stated that they would like to see a balance struck between the struggles faced by African Americans and their successes, along with progress that has been made in the United States.

Strauss praised the curriculum for its educational value but called some of the content “divisive.”

“I spent a lot of time reviewing this curriculum and I think there are a lot of good educational components, but I am struggling over the divisiveness some of this content could cause,” Strauss said. “It does capture the struggle and hardships, but I don’t think it accurately or adequately captures the progress this country has made, and I don’t support the content that villainized law enforcement.”

Before the start of the curriculum conversation, board President Aaron Poynton expressed his concerns with the proposed curriculum.

“In reviewing some of the material in the curriculum, I have observed that some of it did not meet my high standards,” Poynton said. “Several third party links lead to questionable websites full of socio-political ideology and one link even leads to a gambling website with inappropriate images.”

Poynton noted that because of his 10 years of service in the Army, he did not approve of a part of the curriculum that he said deemed terrorism an acceptable act of protest.

“As someone who has served in the military in a global war against terrorism, I have personally carried caskets draped with the American flag, so I found this deeply troubling,” Poynton said.

Implementing Advanced Placement African American Studies in all Harford County high schools has been a topic of public interest with many residents, some of whom support the idea while others oppose it.

Members of the NAACP and Moms For Liberty testified in favor and against the curriculums presented to the board Monday night.

A volunteer with the Harford County NAACP, Bonny Knudsen, said learning is a catalyst for empathy and understanding and that it’s important to give students an opportunity to learn about history.

“I will never know what it is like to live as a Black person in this county or this country, but I can read and listen and learn,” Knudsen said. “Knowledge leads to understanding which leads to empathy.”

Those opposed to the curriculum cited what they said was the political nature of the course and the opportunity for bias.

Suzie Scott, chair of the Harford County chapter of Moms For Liberty, a conservative group that advocates for parental rights, said she believes the new curriculum “seeks to put social grievances ahead of objective truth.”

“What we are really introducing tonight is not new academic courses but what can best be termed as grievance studies,” Scott said. “The politicized nature of our K-12 curriculum is disturbing and the problem with the new framework is that it has international political biases.”

The course would have been an elective for students — not a requirement, noted the Rev. Dr. Marlon Tilghman.

Tilghman stated that before arriving at the board meeting, he spoke with his 40-year-old son about his concerns with residents and school officials debating whether to give students a choice to learn about African American history.

“The more you know about your history, the more likely you are to make changes for the future, and by denying African American history, you are denying the potential of a future,” Tilghman said. “When you deny someone the possibility of a future by knowing their history, you are also denying them a hope of a better future because struggle produces perseverance and perseverance gives us hope and character.”

Board members Poynton, Hahn, Alvarez, Kocher and Strauss voted against granting Advanced Placement African American Studies “regular status” that would meet the standard of the College Board and expand the course to an additional eight Harford County schools. Board members Carol Bruce, Carol Mueller, Denise Perry and Wade Sewell voted to approve the curriculum.

The board also voted against the Sixth Grade Social Sciences curriculum and tabled Women in Perspective.

Since the board did not approve the African American studies curriculum, the course will not be offered to any students next year — meaning that students already enrolled will have to find another course to fill their schedule.

Superintendent Sean Bulson called the task of filling a “hole” in a student’s schedule “tremendous work” for school counselors because of the intricacies in scheduling, class sizes and teacher availability.

However, the course can be brought back before the board for approval at a later date with changes as long as the changes are in line with the College Board’s standards. In order to enact changes, Harford County Public Schools would need to consult with the College Board regarding their concerns.

School systems across the country have been able to work with the College Board to address similar concerns voiced by Harford board members. As of now, it is unclear whether or not collaborative conversations with the College Board will occur.