BRENTWOOD, Tennessee (AP) — A Tennessee school district has issued an apology for a social studies assignment that asked students to pretend to be slave-owners and brainstorm expectations for their slaves.

The Tennessean reported Thursday that Williamson County Schools and Sunset Middle School apologised for the assignment, saying it was inappropriate.

The homework also assigned other tasks including the creation of a political cartoon depicting immigrant labour in the US and writing a public service announcement about the hazards of living in urban areas.

The two teachers who assigned the homework also apologised, saying in a statement that the assignment has been pulled and won’t be graded.

The Tennessee Department of Education says the middle school is 70 per cent white.