In the thick of it

There are several issues that Florida Citizens for Science has been actively involved with. The most high-profile ones to date have been the creation and approval of a new set of state science standards for Florida's public schools, and the fight against deceptively-named "academic freedom" bills in the state legislature. Below are links to historical narratives of these events and other useful resources Florida Citizens for Science has compiled.

Antievolution "critical analysis" bill filed again, 2011

State Senator Stephen Wise filed a bill yet again that would require "critical analysis" of evolution in public schools. Florida Citizens for Science is tracking the bill and actively educating the public and lawmakers about the dangers of this bill. See our string of blog posts covering this issue.

Antievolution "critical analysis" bill filed, 2009

State Senator Stephen Wise filed a bill that would require "critical analysis" of evolution in public schools. However, the bill never advanced and eventually died without a hearing. Sen. Wise was quoted in the news as saying he wanted Intelligent Design taught, but the concept wasn't put in writing in the bill. See our string of blog posts covering this issue.

Evolution in the state science standards, 2008

Throughout 2007 and into 2008, Florida Citizens for Science members were active in the state science standards revision process. Members assisted in the framing, writing, and editing of the new standards. As expected, a statewide conflict erupted over the prominence of evolution in the new document, prompting a vigorous campaign by FCS to defend sound science education. The following seven-part story by FCS board member Brandon Haught documents many of the twists and turns of this lengthy battle. Additionally, videos from the State Board of Education Feb. 19 meeting and Feb. 11 public hearing are available below.

• Part 1: How it all started
• Part 2: We're related to oranges
• Video Part 1: Feb. 11, 2008 science standards public hearing in Orlando. (68 MB / 1 hr, 30 min)
• Video Part 2: Feb. 11, 2008 science standards public hearing in Orlando. (67 MB / 1 hr, 28 min)
• Video Part 3: Feb. 11, 2008 science standards public hearing in Orlando. (52 MB / 1 hr, 8 min)
• Video Part 4: Feb. 11, 2008 science standards public hearing in Orlando. (18 MB / 23 min)
• Part 3: Trouble from the North
• Part 4: "I want God to be a part of this."
• Part 5: Last minute surprises galore
• Part 6: Where are the 'rat-bats'?
• Part 7: And the final vote is ...
• Video Part 1: Feb. 19, 2008 State Board of Education meeting. This video spans from Chairman Fair's opening remarks on the subject to the end of public comment. (69 MB / 1 hr, 31 min)
• Video Part 2: Feb. 19, 2008 State Board of Education meeting. This video spans from Office of Math and Science presentation, then through the Board's debate, and ends with the final vote. (56 MB / 1 hr, 15 min)
• Blog post: Those not in favor of good science education, raise your hand.

"Academic Freedom" bills in Florida legislature, 2008

There is no rest for the weary. Florida Citizens for Science members celebrated the approval of the state's new science standards only to be confronted a few weeks later with two deceptively-named "academic freedom" bills in the state legislature. The following five-part story documents the highs and lows of round two in the evolution fight. (Text provided by National Center for Science Education, with additions by Brandon Haught.) Additionally, videos showing debate on these bills are archived here.

• Part 1: Two bills and a movie
• Part 2: Intellectual inconsistency
• Part 3: Addressing a non-existent problem
• Part 4: Bamboo shoots and hitting the sauce
• Part 5: Legislative ping pong kills the bills
• Video 1: House Schools and Learning Committee April 11, 2008. (51 MB / 1 hr, 9 min)
• Video 2: House 2nd Reading April 25, 2008. (61 MB / 1 hr, 23 min)
• Video 3: House 3rd Reading and Vote April 28, 2008. (74 MB / 1 hr, 41 min)
• Video 4: Senate 2nd Reading April 17, 2008. (27 MB / 36 min)
• Video 5: Senate 3rd Reading and Vote April 23, 2008. (35 MB / 47 min)
• Blog post: Tracking the bills.

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Other Projects

Over the years there have been at least three Florida school board election campaigns that mentioned opposition to evolution in some way. Here in Florida we do have anti-science groups that are getting bolder in their public relations campaigns to undermine science. An event in southern Florida in the fall of 2006 brought in big names from out of state to spread their misinformation. We've also seen controversies over science textbooks crop up on occasion.