If you care about having AP curriculum available in Blue Valley Schools, then you should take a close look at what’s happening right now in the Kansas Legislature - and in statehouses across the country. The not-for-profit College Board has certainly taken notice.
College Board creates and oversees Advanced Placement curriculum, AP exams, and the SAT. Many Blue Valley high schoolers take AP classes - not only for the enhanced learning opportunities, but also to earn college credit and save on the cost of post-secondary education.
College Board recently posted a statement in response to mounting attacks on educators and curriculum by lawmakers and fringe groups. You can read that statement here: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/.../what-ap-stands-for...
In part: “If a school bans required topics from their AP courses, the AP Program removes the AP designation from that course and its inclusion in the AP Course Ledger provided to colleges and universities.”
Yet legislators in Topeka are pushing bills that lay the groundwork for attacks on AP curriculum in our public schools. New laws under consideration go by titles like “Parent’s Bill of Rights” and “Transparency” bills - mirroring similar legislation being introduced in other states.
These naming conventions are intentionally designed to trick citizens into believing the bills are designed with parents in mind. But what this legislation _really_ does is begin opening the door for zealots to sue over what’s being taught in public schools. Eliminating AP curriculum from districts like Blue Valley would go a long way to accelerating the push to school privatization for profit.
Imagine the rapid decline in your home’s value if Blue Valley Schools was no longer able to offer Advanced Placement curriculum - and its AP-prerequisite classes, especially in science, history, and literature.
Would businesses continue to locate in Johnson County when Blue Valley, Shawnee Mission, and Olathe Schools could no longer offer AP classes? Would Advanced Placement classes only be available at private high schools, including the For-Profits that would flourish as a direct result of intentionally dumbing-down Blue Valley Schools? And is profiting from K-12 education really the ultimate goal after all?
Stay tuned to our page for more information - especially as we dissect so-called “Transparency” legislation. We’re happy to see College Board taking a strong stand on this issue.
Has your student(s) benefited from AP classes - the rigor and/or the college credit? What if actions taken by the KsLeg resulted in the College Board removing AP designation from certain classes?