South Carolina joins the list of states debating whether to teach theories on the origin of life other than evolution in the public schools. According to The State (Columbia, SC), a 4-person panel of the state's Education Oversight Committee held hearings Monday on the issue, but decided to take no action at the present time. According to a Charlotte Observer AP report, at issue is whether guidelines should call for students to "critically analyze" evolution. Instead of deciding, the EOC panel agreed to work with the state Department of Education before the full EOC meets on Feb. 13 to find a compromise that would direct teachers to analyze evolution only using scientific testing methods.
This follows a series of events in which the EOC originally voted 8-7 to strike old wording that limited schools to teaching evolution; the state Board of Education voted to overrule that decision; but the state attorney general ruled that the Board of Education overstepped its authority in reinstituting the old guidelines because the new standards were in dispute. The state Education Department writes education standards; the EOC recommends approval or rejection of the standards but may not revise or rewrite them.
