Upper Marlboro–Students from all over Prince George’s County are relishing in their most recent victory: PGCPS has decided to revoke the September decision to make students pay for AP Tests, and are now covering the cost for exams administered in the 2016-2017 school year.

Outraged by the changes made by the board, students planned a rally to protest the new policy on October 13. However, it was announced at noon that the policy had been changed, and what took place instead was a “celebration rally” in which student protesters and community activists took pride in what they had accomplished.

“This is an example…of what student advocacy and coming together can do,” said Student Member of the Board Juwan Blocker, a senior at Parkdale High School, who helped to organize the rally and began an online petition to protest the changes that left the cost of AP tests up to students and their families. Before the county released the news that it would be paying for all AP tests this year, Blocker said, “They have the money…and when it comes to something as important as losing an educational tool, we need to work together.” At the celebration rally he said that he was proud of what changes the students’ protesting had been able to make, but that the same amount of student support needed to continue in the future. “We need political influence,” he said, adding that “we have to ensure that they’re not going to pull the same thing.”

Along with Blocker, the rally was organized by fellow Parkdale students Aaliyah Hennington and Valeria Avila. Hennington, the president of Parkdale’s SGA and former President of Prince George’s Regional Association of Student Governments (PGRASG), said that upon hearing of the changed AP policy, “I was angry. I’m still angry,” adding that “no one told us about this.”

“They’re the only classes that have actually taught me something, and I feel like I’m actually ready to go to college because of these AP classes,” she said of the courses. “We need our students to be college and career ready.” She added that while she was happy about the outcome of that day, she wasn’t done. “I have friends in the 11th grade and the 10th grade and 9th grade and we’re gonna still fight for them.”

“I saw it as an issue,” said Avila, the ESOL Liaison for PGRASG when asked about the announcement that AP tests would no longer be paid for. She described it as “unfair for our students,” adding that “we want to be heard.” But when she heard of the announcement that the tests would be paid for during the 2016-2017 school year, she said, “I was so happy I couldn’t believe it.”

ERHS senior and PGRASG Vice President Kristen Ukeomah said she was also upset by the original change in the policy, and said, “I thought it was unfair to a lot of people.” While she said she was glad they changed the policy for this year, she added that “it brings a lot of questions as to where did this money come from, if we didn’t have this money yesterday.”

“It was absolutely outrageous,” school board member Edward Burroughs said of the decision not to pay for the tests, adding that it would have cost “only six hundred thousand dollars, and we have a two billion dollar budget.” He added that he believes “in the grand scheme of things, if you’re really about students being college and career ready, then this is not something that you do.” He continued by detailing the amount of the PGCPS budget that goes into staff salary. “We have more executives than anyone else,” he explained, saying “Maxwell has tripled his executive cabinet…Maxwell’s salary plus his staff’s salary plus the chief of politics [is] more than six hundred thousand dollars right there; three people here could pay for it.” Burroughs said he plans to work with the future student member of the board to make sure AP tests continue to be paid for, and praised the efforts shown at the rally by saying “the students are more powerful than they think.”

Bob Ross, the president of the Prince George’s County branch of the NAACP, was also present at the rally. “Students no longer can be silenced,” he said, giving a short speech to the crowd of protesters. “I’m so happy I can really cry. You gotta fight for change, and that’s what you’re doing.” Ross and the PG branch of the NAACP have also demanded that County Executive Rushern Baker remove Dr. Kevin Maxwell as superintendent of the school system, saying in a statement that he “has failed to protect the health, safety and civil rights of the students of this school system.”

According to Raven Hill, the Communications Officer of PGCPS, the county “received many concerns from parents and students regarding the change and decided to take another look at the matter.”

“The timing of the notification was problematic for many who expressed concern,” said Hill. “As our letter indicated, we believe that paying for all students this year is the right thing to do.”

While many were happy to hear of the modified policy, several people present at the rally also voiced questions regarding where the money for AP tests was all of sudden coming from. In a press release announcing the change, PGCPS mentioned that the change “does have financial implications that will require some additional adjustments,” but did not elaborate on what those adjustments will be.