CHRISTIANSBURG (WSLS 10) - A school district in Virginia plans to offer a high school Appalachian history course in response to a flap over displaying Confederate symbols in public schools.
The Montgomery County school board approved the new elective course last week, along with elective courses in entrepreneurship education and women's studies.
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School officials tell WSLS 10 this course option will serve as a local history elective allowing students to discover more about local/regional history through literature, history, food and the arts. The courses will use existing staff and materials.
In November, the board banned apparel displaying Confederate and other symbols in public schools.
That decision followed protests over Christiansburg High School's ban on Confederate symbols on student vehicles in the parking lot.
Confederate symbols have come under increased public scrutiny since the June 17 massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Dylann Roof, the white man charged in the slayings, had been photographed holding the Confederate battle flag.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.Â