AAS Public Policy Blog

The Florida Legislature ended its session on May 2, thus killing for the time being the so-called Academic Freedom bills that were under consideration in the Florida House and Senate. The National Center for Science Education has the details.

AAS Members in Florida and Louisiana have recently received emails on legislation in those states to undermine the teaching of science in the classroom. The Wall Street Journal today covers these new challenges to the teaching of evolution in public schools, which often hinge around a promise of “academic freedom.”

From the article:

Evolution’s defenders respond that there are no credible scientific critiques of evolution, any more than there are credible alternatives to the theory of gravity. The fossil record, DNA analysis and observations of natural selection confirm Darwin’s hypothesis that all life on Earth evolved from a common ancestor over four billion years.

In the scientific community, while there may be debate about the details, the grand sweep of evolution is unassailable. “There’s no controversy,” said Jay Labov, a senior adviser for education and communication with the National Academy of Sciences.

But Gallup polls consistently show that nearly half of American adults reject evolution. A third are upset that schools teach it, according to Gallup.

Several states, including South Carolina and Pennsylvania, have passed science standards requiring students to think critically about evolution.

Ms. Scott, of the science-education group, regards the academic-freedom bills as a more serious threat to evolution education because they give teachers so much latitude. “This is basically a get-out-of-jail-free card for creationist teachers,” she said.

Of course, no new law is required to teach science in a science classroom. While these laws supposedly are about insuring academic freedom, in fact they are designed to allow non-scientific ideas into science classrooms. The AAS released a policy position on this topic (Also available in PDF format) in 2005. The resolution states in part:

The American Astronomical Society supports teaching evolution in our nation’s K-12 science classes. Evolution is a valid scientific theory for the origin of species that has been repeatedly tested and verified through observation, formulation of testable statements to explain those observations, and controlled experiments or additional observations to find out whether these ideas are right or wrong. A scientific theory is not speculation or a guess — scientific theories are unifying concepts that explain the physical universe.

If future legislation is pending in your home state, we will likely send you an Action Alert on the topic. You can keep tabs on the various laws and proposals pending at the National Center for Science Education.