Representative Sally Kern (R-OKC) has pre-filed HB 1001, “The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act”. The bill is essentially identical to the bill she filed last year (HB 2211) that failed in it’s assigned Senate committee, but made it out of the legislature as an amendment to another education bill. That bill received a veto from Governor Henry.
Of particular interest to science teachers is section four of the proposed law that states:
“Students may express their beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Homework and classroom assignments shall be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school district. Students shall not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work.”
In light of that section, which would require full classroom credit to be given to religious explanations of scientific phenomena, the OSTA Board of Directors issued the following statement during last year’s legislative session concerning Rep. Kern’s then HB 2211:
“The Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association has issued the following statement concerning HB 2211, “The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act”, by Representative Sally Kern, which is under consideration by the Legislature.“The Oklahoma Science Teachers Association (OSTA) is dedicated to the promotion and development of high quality science education for all students in Oklahoma. The development of a scientifically literate citizenry, conversant in principles and processes of science, is essential for any state or nation to be competitive in a global economy. The effort to grow 21st century industry and agriculture, including Oklahoma’s burgeoning research in nanotechnology and biotechnology, depends on the availability of a scientifically literate workforce that understands the process of posing and testing hypotheses, logically evaluating the results, and expanding our understanding of the natural world. OSTA believes the provisions of HB 2211 hold great potential for harm to the development of scientifically literate citizens in this state. Teachers will be shackled in their efforts to guide students to explore scientific data and explanation and will be forced to give full credence and course credit to viewpoints that have no scientific data or basis. The damage to the credibility of an Oklahoma high school diploma cannot be overstated. While some might posit that examination and exploration of alternative viewpoints is appropriate in a classroom, those ideas that are not scientific and cannot be tested have no place in a science classroom. Under the provisions of this bill, teachers will be required to give full forum to non-scientific viewpoints and will be prevented from explaining that such ideas have no scientific support. Provisions currently in law and expressed in the Constitution give ample protection for religious expression within schools. The Oklahoma Science Teachers Association believes the late Harvard Paleontologist Steven J. Gould’s concept of “Nonoverlapping Magisteria” accurately reflects the interaction of science and religion; both having important, but non-interacting roles in helping us make sense of our place in the physical and spiritual world. HB 2211 actively violates that concept in a direct effort to inject religious viewpoints into public school classrooms and should not be enacted.”
The full text of HB 1001 as pre-filed is found here.