This is a quick update on the Religious Liberties and Instructional Materials bills we’re watching in the Florida legislature.
Religious Liberties:
The bill successfully passed through all Senate committees and the full Senate approved it on a 23-13 vote.
The House version successfully passed through all committees and is awaiting its full House vote.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State opposes this bill:Â Fla. Legislators Push To Turn Public Schools Into Mission Fields.
Most troubling, these bills will harm students’ religious freedom. Both SB 436 and HB 303 would require teachers to permit religious expression in all school assignments without penalty, opening the door for students who so desire to use class time to proselytize and advance their own religious views on classmates. A student, for example, could use every assignment that includes a class presentation as an opportunity to convince any non-believers in the class that they need to accept Jesus to achieve salvation. Alternatively, students in science classes could try to turn every class discussion into a debate about evolution vs. creationism.
Instructional Materials:
The bill passed through one Senate committee and is waiting to be scheduled for its only other committee stop before the full Senate considers it.
The House version passed through one committee and is waiting to be scheduled for two other committee stops before the full House considers it.
The Tampa Bay Times Gradebook blog briefly mentions our concerns about this bill and also shows we’re not the only folks opposed to the bill:Â Concern mounts over textbook, coding bills as they gain steam in Florida Legislature.
Brandon Haught of Florida Citizens for Science posted on the group’s blog this indictment: “It’s unanimous … Florida lawmakers disregard danger to science education.”
He and others pointed to the affidavits submitted by bill supporters, in which they complain about such things as evolution being taught as fact rather than theory, and said the Legislature must beware the motivations.
And the National Center for Science Education is also keeping an eye on developments here:Â Antiscience bills progress in Florida.
Both bills were amended in committee before they passed, eliminating two worrisome provisions (involving eligibility to file a complaint and consistency of instructional materials with the state science standards).
But in a March 27, 2017, blog post, Brandon Haught of Florida Citizens for Science emphasized that passage of the bills even as amended would threaten to inundate local school boards with scientifically unfounded attacks on climate change and evolution.
To demonstrate his point, Haught cited affidavits submitted in support of the bills that complained, e.g., “I have witnessed students being taught evolution as a fact … rather than a theory … I have witnessed children being taught that Global Warming is a reality.”
