Texas Schools Science Director Fired Over Apparent Opposition To Intelligent Design

The director of science curriculum at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has been forced to resign after she forwarded to a number of people an e-mail announcing a presentation by an author who is critical of intelligent design proponents. The AP reported on Friday that Chris Comer, who has held her position for nine years, says that evolution politics led to her firing. The TEA says that Comer's action implies that it endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral. Her action also violated a directive that she not communicate with anyone outside the TEA about the agency's review of the Texas science curriculum scheduled for next year.