National Center for Science Education

"The Utah State Board of Education greenlit plans Thursday [April 12, 2018] to begin drafting new school science standards, a process likely to touch on divisive issues like climate change and evolution," according to the Salt Lake Tribune (April 13, 2018).

Even despite public controversies over the inclusion of climate change in state science standards, "Americans overwhelmingly support teaching our children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming — in all 50 states and 3,000+ counties across the nation, including Republican and Democratic strongholds," according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (April 11, 2018).

NCSE is pleased to congratulate Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University and a member of NCSE's board of directors, on receiving a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Alabama's House Bill 258, which would have allowed teachers to present "the theory of creation as presented in the Bible" in any class discussing evolution, "thereby affording students a choice as to which theory to accept," died in committee on March 29, 2018, when the legislature adjourned sine die.

NCSE is pleased to announce that the latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education is now available on-line. The issue — volume 38, number 2 — is the tenth issue in the newsletter's new, streamlined, and full-color format.

When Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 6032 (PDF) into law on March 27, 2018, the state of Washington committed to provide $4 million "to provide grants ... for science teacher training in the [N]ext [G]eneration [S]cience [S]tandards" — adopted in 2013 — "including training in the climate science standards."

When the Idaho legislature adjourned sine die on March 28, 2018, a three-year-long struggle over new state science standards ended, with a generally positive outcome.

A pair of "Campus Free Speech Acts," Assembly Bill 299 and Senate Bill 250, died in the Wisconsin legislature on March 28, 2018, when they failed to meet a deadline.

About two thirds of Americans overall realize that most scientists think that global warming is occurring and that it is caused by human activities, according to a new poll from Gallup. But the partisan polarization of opinion on climate change continues to be clear. 

Senate Resolution 33 (PDF), introduced in the Louisiana Senate on March 20, 2018, would, if passed, commend a former state senator "on his support and endorsement of teaching creationism in public schools."

NCSE is seeking to hire one or two part-time summer interns to work on science education activism projects, with a particular focus on either climate change education or evolution education. 

The eminent physicist Stephen Hawking died on March 14, 2018, at the age of 76, according to The New York Times (March 14, 2018).

Idaho's House Concurrent Resolution 60 (PDF), introduced by the House Education Committee on March 12, 2018, would, if enacted, delete a single standard — ESS 3-4-1 — from the proposed science standards currently under legislative review.

Duane Jeffery, a former member of NCSE's board of directors, a member of its advisory council, and professor emeritus of biology at Brigham Young University, is to be honored with the National Science Teachers Association's Presidential Citation for 2018, according to a

When the Florida legislature adjourned sine die on March 11, 2018, two pairs of bills that would, in their different ways, have undermined the integrity of science education in the Sunshine State died.

Iowa's House File 2317, which if enacted would have reversed the state's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2005, died on February 16, 2018, when a deadline for bills to pass committee in their house of origin passed.

The distinguished biologist John Sulston died on March 6, 2018, at the age of 75, according to the Guardian (March 9, 2018).

NCSE's annual report for 2017 is now available (PDF) on NCSE's website.

Connecticut's Senate Bill 345 would, if enacted, require the teaching of climate change "consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards" in the state's public schools, and would also task the state department of energy and environmental protection with helping local and regional school districts develop appropriate curricula to do so.

NCSE is seeking to hire a Director of Communications.