In Ohio, where Americans United for Separation of Church and State are contemplating a lawsuit to challenge the state's science education guidelines (see prior posting), Gov. Bob Taft has now set out his views. Yesterday's Columbus Dispatch says that the governor supports the teaching of evolution, and of "critical analysis" of the theory as state guidelines specify, but he says that "if there is an issue here where they are actually teaching intelligent design, that's another matter". Taft says that he is convinced the state's 10th-grade biology teaching standards do not include intelligent design, but that the companion lesson plan is more problematic and should be reviewed. Last month, the State Board of Education refused, by a vote of 9-8, to change the model lesson plan to eliminate questions about its constitutionality. The governor also said that he should have asked his previous appointees to the State Board of Education more questions about their position on the issue, and that he will be asking about it before making future appointments. He will have 4 spots to fill at the end of this year. The governor appoints 8 of the 19 board members.
State Board of Education member Martha W. Wise, who favors removing any reference to intelligent design from the state's lesson plan, last month asked state Attorney General Jim Petro for an opinion on the legality of Ohio's guidelines and lesson plan. However Petro refused because the request did not come from the full board. Petro is campaigning in a hotly contested Republican primary for governor, and his ads have overtly used religious themes (see prior posting).
