ATLANTA – Georgia’s attorney general said that a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies does not violate the state’s law against teaching divisive racial concepts.

In a letter written to the Republican state representative who authored the 2022 measure, Attorney General Chris Carr said that the African American Studies AP course is exempt from the law because it is an AP course.

Georgia’s Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods had also requested an opinion from Carr on the issue, after Woods had refused to recommend the course for approval by the state Board of Education because he thought it broke the law.

Wade said Tuesday that he hoped Woods would reverse his decision and recommend the course.

“I really hope that Richard will make a decision as soon as possible and alleviate the concerns of Georgia students, teachers and parents,” Wade told the Associated Press.

SEE ALSO: Should AP African American Studies be taught in Georgia schools? Congresswomen talk superintendent ban

After confusion over whether the state could fund the course, some districts across the state have declined to include it in their curriculum.

Some districts have declined to teach the course without state approval. In metro Atlanta, many school districts had to decide if they wanted to fund the class on their own. Officials in DeKalb County agreed to spend up to $100,000 to make sure students can take it.

The Gwinnett School District went the other way. The district isn’t offering the class, forcing students who had signed up for it to make last-minute changes to their schedules. Gwinnett officials made the decision because they say the lack of funding means students won’t get extra credit added to their G.P.A. to help them qualify for the H.O.P.E. Scholarship.

Criticism from both parties over AP African American Studies funding

Woods has faced not only attacks from Democrats but pointed questions from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

At a school district event in Carrolton last week, Kemp stated his concerns over the decision and asked for more transparency, especially with changes occurring so close to the start of the school year. 

“If you are going to make changes, especially just before the school year, there needs to be transparency,” Kemp said. 

AP African American Studies course in the national spotlight

The Advanced Placement course drew national scrutiny in 2023 when Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would ban the course in his state. In June, South Carolina officials also refused to approve the course. South Carolina said individual districts could still offer it.

The College Board is a nonprofit testing entity that offers Advanced Placement courses across the academic spectrum. Students who score well on an exam can usually earn college credit. The board has said the course is based on academic scholarship and doesn’t seek to indoctrinate students.

Carr’s letter notes that the law requires teachers to instruct “in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs.” But other than that, he noted the law’s text specifically exempts AP courses.

“Other than those limitations, the statutory language as enacted excludes advanced placement, international baccalaureate and dual enrollment coursework by its express terms,” Carr wrote.

Georgia Superintendent of Schools Richard Woods, seen center, is touring a school in this undated photo.  (FOX 5)

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Woods had been saying that districts could teach the AP material and get state money by listing it as an introductory African American studies course approved by the state in 2020. Woods took that position after earlier saying districts would have to teach the course using only local tax money. But when he declared that he believed the course was illegal, Woods said he believed districts could expose themselves to legal challenges by teaching the AP material using the introductory course.

Georgia’s 2022 ban on teaching divisive racial concepts in schools, based on a now-repealed executive order from President Donald Trump, prohibits claims that the U.S. is “fundamentally or systematically racist.” It mandates that no student “should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race.” So far, 18 states have passed such bans.

Under the law, if people allege a violation and it isn’t resolved locally, they can appeal to the state Board of Education. The board could order a corrective action plan, and a district could lose exemptions from state rules if it didn’t comply. Districts rely on those exemptions to set policy locally.

Woods, who is white, said he was particularly concerned about how the course presents the concept of intersectionality. That’s a framework for understanding the effects of overlapping systems of discrimination or disadvantage. For example, Black women may face compounding disadvantages because of their race and gender.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ATHENS — There’s a stark contrast between when Georgia’s defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann speaks and when co-defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson does.

When Robinson speaks, there’s an energy and enthusiasm to his tone. An excitement to attack each question.

Schumann is much more reserved and monotonous. But Schumann’s tone doesn’t detract from his message, or how impactful and important he is to the Georgia operation.

“(I) call him Rain Man,” Robinson said of Schumann. “He’s very, very intelligent. Very intelligent, sees everything, has really good ideas and he does a really good job in front of the guys. I think the guys really respect him. He does a good job of delegating different things to the staff and giving them ownership in their job. Y’all should see him try to make any kind of edit or slide. He’s the best on the computer I’ve ever seen.”

Schumann, as improbable as it seems, is now entering his ninth year as an assistant coach at Georgia. It will be his third as Georgia’s defensive coordinator.

He’s worked with a number of assistants over the years, from Mel Tucker to Dan Lanning and now Robinson. He’ll step in for Will Muschamp, who previously worked as the co-defensive coordinator for Georgia.

Schumann is quick to note it’s always a collaborative effort when it comes to the defensive coaching staff. That has always been the case on a Kirby Smart coaching staff, offense or defense.

But Schumann’s voice echoes loudly on the defensive side of the ball. And it has only grown in his time with Georgia.

“As a teacher, you can’t assume the people you’re delivering the message to are understanding what you’re saying unless you get that communication back and forth,” Schumann said. “So I think those elements are important.”

Schumann didn’t play at the SEC level as Smart, Muschamp or Robinson did. His football career ended when he was in high school. He never planned on going into coaching but a moment during his senior year of high school when he helped explain a concept to another player.

“I had the biggest rush of my life seeing them be successful after me helping them in some way, shape, or form, and kind of at that moment I knew I wanted to coach,” Schumann said.

That enthusiasm for teaching hasn’t waned for Schumann, even as his stature in college football has grown. He’s the highest-paid assistant coach on Georgia’s staff, making more than $2 million a year.

With that salary comes great problems, like solving the puzzle of how to get the most out of multi-positional players such as Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker or Joenel Aguero.

There’s also the looming 2024 schedule, which features games against Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama and Clemson. The contest against the Tigers is at the end of the month, and it’s easy to understand why someone who can see all the angles like Schumann might be looking ahead.

But the Georgia defensive coordinator actually cares far more about figuring out what his own team can do at this point, rather than trying to slow down Clemson.

“Focusing on our installation, focusing on our players and their development,” Schumann said. “It’s this window of time for these two weeks that you have to attack your technique and fundamentals, okay, your mental part of the game, every area that you need to focus on to improve yourself. If you become a better player, if each person, each coach grows themselves over this period of time, that’ll pay more dividends than just about anything we could do in opponent prep.”

Clemson will be plenty motivated against Schumann’s defense, as the Tigers had just three points against Georgia back in 2021. Garrett Riley, Clemson’s offensive coordinator, scored just seven points the last time he matched wits with Schumann, which came as TCU’s offensive coordinator in the 2023 National Championship Game.

Much like Raymond Babbit in the aforementioned Rain Man, Schumann always seems to be one step ahead of the dealer. More often than not, his defense has been in a position to get stops, even after losing wave after wave of defenders to the NFL.

He’s only just begun working with Robinson, who came over from Alabama’s staff. And while Robinson is still learning some of the quirks of Schumann’s personality, he recognizes what a special coach and person Schumann is.

“He’s an awesome dude, a great guy, a staff guy,” Robinson said. “He’s a guy that I’m eager to continue to learn from and be a part of and help with what we’re trying to get accomplished here.”

Glenn Schumann shares his hopes for the 2024 Georgia defense