NCSE Evolution and Climate Education Update for 2017/12/01
Submitted by Peter Burns on Fri, 2017-12-01 16:19.
National Center for Science Education
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear friends of NCSE, A second antiscience bill is prefiled in Florida. News about the effect of Florida's new instructional materials challenge law. And a blog post by NCSE staff is republished in a special edition of Scientific American.
A SECOND ANTISCIENCE BILL IN FLORIDA Florida's House Bill 825, prefiled on November 28, 2017, would, if enacted, require "[c]ontroversial theories and concepts ... [to] be taught in a factual, objective, and balanced manner," while allowing local school districts to use either the state science standards or alternatives "equivalent to or more rigorous than" them. There is no indication in the bill about which "theories and concepts" are deemed to be "controversial," much less any guidance about adjudicating disputes about which are and which are not. But House Bill 825 is the counterpart of Senate Bill 966, prefiled von November 17, 2017, which -- as NCSE previously reported -- was introduced by Dennis Baxley (R-District 12), who has a record of antievolution advocacy both within and outside the Florida state legislature. HB 825's sole sponsor is Charlie Stone (R-District 22). For the text of Florida's House Bill 825 as introduced, visit: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0825__.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0825&Session=2018 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Florida, visit: https://ncse.com/news/florida THE LATEST FROM FLORIDA The effects of Florida's new law making it easier for creationists and climate change deniers to harass their local school districts are already manifesting, according to a report from the Associated Press (November 18, 2017). Enacted in June 2017, the law, as NCSE previously reported, allows any county resident -- not just parents as previously -- to challenge instructional materials used in the public schools, and requires the school districts to establish a formal process to hear such complaints, including appointing an "unbiased and qualified hearing officer" not "an employee or agent of the school district." The Associated Press sent public records requests to all sixty-seven of the state's school districts, asking for complaints filed during 2017. "Seven reported receiving at least one," including a complaint in Brevard County that elementary school social studies textbooks are engaged in "blatant indoctrination" by asserting that global warming is caused by human activity, and a complaint in Nassau County challenging the teaching of evolution there. The president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents described the new law as "cumbersome" and unnecessary, according to the Associated Press, while "Brandon Haught, spokesman for Florida Citizens for Science, which opposed the bill, said his group is prepared to fight any challenges made against the teaching of evolution and climate change, which nearly all biologists and climatologists agree are proven facts." A recent post (November 27, 2017) by Haught at Florida Citizens for Science's blog details the current challenges to science education in Florida and describes what concerned Floridians can do to help. For the Associated Press story (via the South Florida Times), visit: http://www.sfltimes.com/education/new-florida-law-expected-to-increase-textbook-challenges For the text of the law (PDF), visit: http://laws.flrules.org/2017/177 For Brandon Haught's post at Florida Citizens for Science's blog, visit: http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=2978 And for NCSE's previous coverage of events in Florida, visit: https://ncse.com/news/florida NCSE'S BRANCH AND REID IN A SPECIAL EDITION OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN NCSE's Glenn Branch and Ann Reid's "50 Years Ago: Repeal of Tennessee's 'Monkey Law'" was selected for inclusion in "The Science Behind the Debates," a special edition of Scientific American dated December 2017. Taking the fiftieth anniversary of the repeal of Tennessee's Butler Act in 1967 as their cue, Branch and Reid warned, "the schools are still not entirely safe for evolution. From Scopes through [Gary] Scott [a teacher whose lawsuit contributed to the repeal] to today, science teachers have been in the trenches of the evolution wars, bearing the brunt of conflicting forces from science and society." "Fortunately, the treatment of evolution in state science standards is, on the whole, improving, which means that textbooks, curricula, and ideally teachers are following suit. But scientific knowledge and pedagogical knowhow aren't the only equipment that teachers need in order to teach evolution forthrightly. They also need the confidence to persist, even in the face of doubt and denial." Branch and Reid added, "Creationists are as active as ever ... So the evolution wars are by no means over." "50 Years Ago: Repeal of Tennessee's 'Monkey Law'" was originally published on Scientific American's Observations blog (May 10, 2017). For information about the special edition of Scientific American, visit: https://www.scientificamerican.com/magazine/special-editions/2017/special-editions-volume-26-issue-5s/ WHAT'S NEW AT NCSE'S BLOG? Have you been visiting NCSE's blog recently? If not, then you've missed: * Glenn Branch describing NCSE at work in New Mexico: https://ncse.com/blog/2017/11/ncse-at-work-new-mexico-story-0018660 For NCSE's blog, visit: http://ncse.com/blog Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution and climate education and threats to them. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Oakland CA 94612-2922 510-601-7203 fax 510-788-7971 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Check out NCSE's blog: http://ncse.com/blog Read Reports of the NCSE on-line: http://reports.ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/join
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