AP courses are not required. Don’t take them.
It’s probably worse in the regular, non-AP classes. This is early college prep in more ways than one.
For students who are very bright and motivated, AP courses,if done right, can keep them interested. However, a friend of mine had a daughter in the public school system and found out that their AP (or Honors) Program was just like the regular curriculum, except you were in a class with other very bright students. My girls went to a Catholic HS and had a terrfic English teacher, math teacher and history teacher. My youngest is still quite interested in American History.
A good, motivating teacher who knows the subject matter can make a world of difference. Unfortunately, there are damn few of those in the public school system.