From OKLAHOMA EVOLUTION/CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
May 2013
OKLAHOMA CREATIONIST ANTI-SCIENCE BILLS DIE AGAIN!
[As reported earlier on this list serve Oklahoma bills promoting anti-evolution, anti-science courses in public schools, either died in committee or were not heard on the House floor before adjournment of the Legislature. The Legislature adjourned Sine Die on 24 May, a week earlier than the deadline.
HB 1674 (Rep, Blackwell, ‘Science Education and Academic Freedom Act’) and SB 758 (Sen., Brecheen, ‘Oklahoma Science Education Act’) are dead for this year. Like previous attempts these bills are not authored by scientists and there is no evidence that qualified scientists had any input into the texts of the bills; they are based on templates provided by the creationist Discovery Institute and similar to bills attempted in other states.
In addition two other bills that could be bad for science education were similarly defeated. HB 1940 and HB 1456, both essentially identical ‘Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Acts, keep coming up each year, despite being killed each year and once being vetoed by Governor Brad Henry. It is now law in Texas, where it has apparently not been placed into operation by any school district, despite contrary comments by one of the bills’ author before the House Education Committee
The demise of these bills this year can be attributed to the large number of messages sent to the appropriate committees by national and state organizations and the individuals who responded to requests to help. To all who did, THANK YOU – your efforts paid off as usual! None of these types of bill have passed during the past 13 years! However, we will likely have to continue opposition next year. The authors of these bills, and their supportive legislators, continue to be anti-science and, in many ways, anti-education.]
ALL ANTI-SCIENCE BILLS DIE IN OTHER STATE LEGISLATURES.
In previous posts we have discussed creationist bills in other states. It now appears that all have died. Eight antievolution bills were introduced in six states (Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri [2 bills], Montana, Oklahoma [2 bills] in 2013; none won passage. For more details see NCSE posting HERE.
REPEAL EFFORT FAILS AGAIN IN LOUISIANA.
[From NCSE (in part), 2 May 2013. Bold added.]
“Louisiana’s Senate Bill 26 (PDF) was tabled on a 3-2 vote in the Senate Committee on Education on May 1, 2013, which effectively kills the bill in committee, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune (May 1, 2013). The bill, introduced by Karen Carter Peterson (D-District 5), would, if enacted, repeal Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:285.1, which implemented the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act, passed and enacted in 2008, and thus opened the door for scientifically unwarranted criticisms of evolution and climate science to be taught in the state’s public schools. It was the third bill of its kind, following SB 374 in 2012 and SB 70 in 2011.
“Since 2008, antievolutionists have not only sought to undermine the law’s provision allowing challenges to unsuitable supplementary materials, but have also reportedly invoked the law to support proposals to teach creationism in at least two parishes — Livingston and Tangipahoa — and to attack the treatment of evolution in biology textbooks proposed for adoption by the state. Recently, speaking to NBC News on April 12, 2013, Louisiana’s governor Bobby Jindal ®, who signed the bill into law over the protests of the state’s scientific and educational communities, acknowledged that the LSEA allows teachers to “teach our kids about creationism.”
“Among those testifying in favor of the repeal was Zack Kopplin, who was quoted by the Associated Press (May 1, 2013) as describing the LSEA as “about going back into the Dark Ages, not moving forward into the 21st [c]entury,” adding, “Louisiana students deserve to be taught sound science and that means the theory of evolution, not creationism.” Tammy Wood, a Zachary-area science teacher, highlighted the failure of the LSEA to provide “the necessary restrictions, standards, and guidelines” to avoid its misuse to promote “mere nonsense masquerading as a viable alternative.” The complete video of the hearing is available on-line.
“In advance of the hearing, Kopplin published two op-eds arguing for the repeal. Writing in the Guardian (May 1, 2013), he emphasized (in the words of the headline) “the cost of teaching creationism — in reputation and dollars” to the state: “Any state that passes a creationism law will harm their students and drive scientists — and business — away.” Writing at MSNBC (May 1, 2013), he addressed Governor Jindal directly: “it’s time to take your own advice and actually lead the Republican Party toward being a smarter party by endorsing evidence-based science, and the repeal of Louisiana’s creationism law.”
“Among those endorsing the repeal effort are seventy-eight Nobel laureate scientists, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Biology Educators, the Louisiana Coalition for Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute for Biological Sciences, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Society for the Study of Evolution together with the Society of Systematic Biologists and the American Society of Naturalists, the Clergy Letter Project, the New Orleans City Council, and the Baton Rouge Advocate.”
EVOLUTION TEACHING IN PENNSYLVANIA- AND ELSEWHERE.
“In a wide-ranging article, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (April 28, 2013) discussed “the ill-kept secret about public school biology classrooms nationwide — that evolution often isn’t taught robustly, if at all.” In Pennsylvania as around the nation, “[f]aith-based belief in creationism and intelligent design continues to be discussed and even openly taught in public school classrooms, despite state curriculum standards.”
“In a poll of Pennsylvania’s science teachers conducted by the paper in early 2013, 89.5% of respondents said that they believed in the theory of evolution, 13.3% in intelligent design, and 19.1% in creationism; 4.76% were not sure or expressed a different view. (Respondents were allowed to chose more than one option.) There were 105 respondents; further details of how the poll was conducted were not provided.”
[See remainder of NCSE posting HERE. Although we do not yet have such data for Oklahoma, estimates are that as many as 50% of Oklahoma high schools do not cover evolution in biology courses.]
MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS NEEDED FOR SURVEY.
“Greetings Middle School and High School Science Teachers! My name is Nicole Colston and I am a PhD student in Environmental Science at Oklahoma State University. I hope to solicit the participation of 5th-12th grade science teachers in Oklahoma for my on-line survey. This study is part of my dissertation research about science teaching and learning in Oklahoma, […] [You may view the latest post HERE. If you are a science teacher, PLEASE help her out. Her study will lead to better knowledge of how science teaching in Oklahoma stands.]
WEEKEND TEACHERS’ WORKSHOP ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY – FREE.
Coming this fall!
Topics include current climate science, inquiry-based learning, state curriculum and classroom issues Workshop organized and sponsored by: Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, National Science Foundation, and The University of Oklahoma Biological Station. Open to high school teachers and college majors in science education from Oklahoma and northern Texas. Instructors will include professional climatologists and college instructors.
Here is the workshop application form. Registration deadline is September 10. BUT apply early, limited to30 students. Check out the flyer for more information.