Florida debates place of evolution in science standards
As the Florida Board of Education prepares to change science standards in the state's schools, supporters and detractors of evolution are voicing their opinions. The board has held the fourth and last public forum before it votes on new science standards Feb. 19. In the past few months, thousands have commented on the proposed standards on a state website, which is now closed to public remarks, and hundreds have turned out at meetings throughout Florida. The draft declares: “Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence.” Current state standards, approved in 1996, refer to “biological change over time,” and contain a description of evolution, but no mention of the word itself. Debate in Florida echoes that in Texas, which is preparing a similar revision of its science-education standards. The continued divide in popular opinion frustrates many scientists and educators. “There should not be a debate,” said Gerry Meisels, director of the Coalition for Science Literacy at the University of South Florida and member of the drafting committee for the new standards in the state. “It's very counterproductive for our children, it's counterproductive for our country, it's counterproductive for our future. This is like the Middle Ages.” Oscar Howard Jr., superintendent of the 3,300-student Taylor County Public Schools near Tallahassee, drove nine hours to speak against the new standards. His district's five-member school board had unanimously voted to oppose them about a month ago. Such anti-evolution sentiment has been addressed in numerous reports. Earlier this month, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released one called Science, Evolution, and Creationism that argues that creationism does not belong in science class. In 2005, Florida got a failing grade in its teaching of evolution from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates educational reform. “Life sciences and evolution are given shorter shrift than any of the others,'” the report said of Florida's standards. “The E-word is sedulously avoided.”
Source: Miami Herald, 1/9/08, By Hannah Sampson
Full story: http://www.miamiherald.com/295/story/372118.html
[Editor’s Note: The summary brochure for the NAS publication is below, as is the Fordham Institute’s website with its 2005 evaluation of each state’s science standards. Background on the Florida controversy is at the third link.]
NAS summary brochure
Fordham Institute State of Science Standards reports
NSBA School Law pages on Florida debate