The creationism bill (“academic freedom”) introduced in the State House, HB 1483, was referred to the Schools & Learning Council, Friday, March 07, 2008 8:25 PM.
Our blog post tracking both the House and Senate bills is here.
Please write, call, e-mail, and fax your state senator and representative, as well as the members of the committees responsible for initial consideration of these bills. House Schools & Learning Council page here. The council director is Lynn Cobb: e-mail Lynn.Cobb@LASPBS.STATE.FL.US.
Two documents produced by Florida Citizens for Science can be helpful as you do this. Here is a background PDF and a response PDF.
More on the bills is here:
http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2008/03/explore-the-str.html
or here:
https://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=495
Note that the bills do not specifically call for any particular thing to be taught. It is nuts to modify the standards to say in effect teach whatever you want, as long as you put in some science words and claim it is science. That is,it’s nuts unless you have some specific content in mind but decline for some reason to say what it is.
From SB 2692:
This is wide enough to drive a creationist truck through. Unless there’s some other law to limit the materials that a teacher could bring into classes, all manner of DI material could be brought in. This bill is an attempt to bring ID creationism into classes thus circumventing and overriding the standards writers. Would it really be legal in Florida for the legislature to do this?
It amazes me that Florida citizens (granted, mostly extreme evangelicals) and a few Legislators and Senators would allow themselves to be used by the likes of the Discovery Institute. If these folks are aware of the Wedge Document, they should be embarrassed for being the pawns for perpetuating such twisted propaganda. If they are not aware of the document, then shame on them for not doing a bit of research to learn the facts about this deceitful attempt to allow creationism into our public schools. Let’s all hope that our representatives do their homework, and truly protect our teachers and children. Let’s hope they kill these bills in committee – rather than inviting embarrassing lawsuits to our state. Our children deserve to learn science – not religion – in our public schools.
Thats a ten four
Perhaps mailing copies of the wedge document to these representatives (and the press) would make them realize that they are being used as pawns for the Discovery Institute’s religious agenda. Sadly, it’s very likely that they are aware but are acting as willing participants regardless. The more exposure that this document gets with the general public, the less likely the politicians can pretend to complacent and unaccountable in promoting these blatantly unconstitutional actions.
Oh my word…I am speechless!
“I want a balanced policy. I want students taught how to think, not what to think,” Hays says. “There are problems with evolution. Have you ever seen a half-monkey, half human?”
http://media.www.ecollegetimes.com/media/storage/paper991/news/2008/03/06/MctNews/Documentary.May.Sway.Fla.Lawmakers.Weighing.Bill.Aimed.At.Questioning.Theory.Of-3263160.shtml
OK – I have to give a “Hat tip” to a creationist on PT (Who is your creator) for pointing me to this web site.
http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/evolution_state_news.html
He was trying to say that “evolutionists” were “Legislating” all over the place.
(Don’t worry – it was pointed out to him that scientists have been on the DEFENSIVE. not the OFFENSIVE)
Anyway, take a look at all of these cases.
Maybe we should send this list of court cases to our legislature??
I haven’t looked at ALL of them, but it seems that “main stream science” certainly has the law behind it 🙂
Maybe they can look at the list and realize that doing anything that could result in a lawsuit, would simply be a waste of time and a drain on the economy.