Thursday, October 16, 2008

Texas Appoints 3 Anti-Evolutionists To Curriculum Review Panel

Yesterday's Dallas News reports that conservatives on the Texas State Board of Education have appointed three supporters of teaching intelligent design or creationism to a six-member review committee for science curriculum standards in Texas schools. Two of the appointees, Stephen Meyer and Ralph Seelke, have authored the textbook Explore Evolution, distributed by the Discovery Institute. The third evolution critic is Baylor University Professor Charles Garner. The three other appointees to the review committee are professors at Texas universities. Texas Freedom Network yesterday issued a release quoting TFN president Kathy Miller who said in part:
It's simply stunning that any state board members would even consider appointing authors of an anti-evolution textbook to a panel of scientists.... Texas universities boast some of the leading scientists in the world.... It’s appalling that some state board members turned to out-of-state ideologues to decide whether Texas kids get a 21st-century science education.
[Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]