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In a victory for the integrity of science education in Texas, the Texas state board of education approved a revision to the state science standards that removed language that opened the door to creationism.

On April 20, 2017, House Bill 989 passed the Florida House of Representatives on a 94-25 vote, while its counterpart, Senate Bill 1210, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 16-0 vote. 

Walter R. Hearn, a biochemist active in defending evolution within evangelical circles, died on April 11, 2017, at the age of 91, according to the American Scientific Affiliation (April 14, 2017).

Florida's House Bill 989 and Senate Bill 1210  — bills aimed at empowering taxpayers to object to the use of specific instructional materials in the public schools, with climate change and evolution clearly among the targets — were the subjects of sharp criticism in a pair of commentaries.

Oklahoma's Senate Bill 393 (PDF), which would empower science denial in the classroom, was passed on a 4-3 vote by the House General Government Oversight and Accountability Committee on April 13, 2017. 

NCSE's Ann Reid, Glenn Branch, and Steve Newton contributed a guest commentary discussing the Heartland Institute's mailing of climate change denial material to teachers to the blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists (April 12, 2017).

Alabama's House Joint Resolution 78 (PDF), which would, if adopted, ostensibly urge state and local education authorities to promote the academic freedom of science teachers in the state's public schools, passed the House Committee on Rules and then the House on a voice vote on April 6, 2017. 

One of the two bills aimed at empowering taxpayers to object to the use of specific instructional materials in the public schools — whose supporters have evolution and climate change in their sights — progressed further in the Florida legislature.

When the Arkansas legislature recessed on April 3, 2017, House Bill 2050 (PDF) — which would, if enacted, have allowed "public schools to teach creationism and intelligent design as theories alongside the theory of evolution" — apparently died.
 

NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview (PDF) of Randy Moore and William F. McComas's The Scopes Monkey Trial (Arcadia Publishing, 2016).

A climate-change-denial think tank's unsolicited mailing to science teachers was the topic of a story from Frontline (March 28, 2017).

The two bills aimed at empowering taxpayers to object to the use of specific instructional materials in the public schools — whose supporters have evolution and climate change in their sights — progressed in the Florida legislature.

The Idaho House of Representatives voted 56-9 to adopt Senate Concurrent Resolution 121 on March 24, 2017, thus finalizing the legislature's decision to delete five standards — those discussing climate change and human impact on the environment — from a proposed new set of state science standards for Idaho.

NCSE is pleased to announce the winners of the third teacher scholarships on our regular raft trip through the Grand Canyon: Marie Story of Whittier Middle School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Robyn Witty of Roncalli High School, Indianapolis, Indiana. Both teachers will receive an all-expenses-paid eight-day raft trip through the Grand Canyon, guided by a member of NCSE's staff and joining twenty other NCSE members and supporters who purchased seats on the trip. (Two seats are still available for the 2017 trip.) The funds for the teacher scholarships were donated by generous members and supporters of NCSE.

NCSE is pleased to congratulate Richard C. Lewontin, a member of NCSE's Advisory Council, on receiving the Genetics Society of America's Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime achievement in the field of genetics for 2017.

Oklahoma's Senate Bill 393 (PDF), which would empower science denial in the classroom, was passed on a 34-10 vote by the Senate on March 22, 2017, despite the protests of state and national organizations of scientists and science teachers..

A young activist in Oklahoma is making headlines for his opposition to the state's Senate Bill 393, which would empower science denial in the classroom.

"Record percentages of Americans are concerned about global warming, believe it is occurring, consider it a serious threat and say it is caused by human activity. All of these perceptions are up significantly from 2015," reports Gallup (March 14, 2017).