Kansas Board of Education Revises Science Standards

Reuters reported yesterday that the Kansas State Board of Education, by a vote of 6-4, approved a new set of science standards that that include several challenges to the theory of evolution. The standards say that there is a lack of evidence or natural explanation for the genetic code, that fossil records are inconsistent with evolutionary theory, and that certain evolutionary explanations "are not based on direct observations... and often reflect... inferences from indirect or circumstantial evidence." State Board of Education's chairman, Steve Abrams, who has said that evolutionary theory is incompatible with the Bible's version of creation, praised the decision. Jack Krebs, vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science, said, "This is a significant attack on science. They really are advancing a sectarian religious view. They're treading on constitutional grounds." (See prior related posting.)