by Lenny Flank
(c) copyright 2006
One of the most effective ID/creationist tactics has been to lobby state textbook committees to either drop mention of evolutionary biology altogether, or to add a "disclaimer" to their texts opining that evolution is "just a theory". On January 16, 1998, for instance, the Washington State Senate introduced a bill requiring that all science textbooks contain a printed disclaimer stating that evolution is only a "theory", and listing a series of inaccurate criticisms of evolution. The bill is a virtual word-for-word copy of an earlier proposal passed by the Alabama state Board of Education in November, 1995. The Washington bill reads:
"All science textbooks purchased with state moneys must have the following notice placed prominently in them.A MESSAGE FROM THE WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE
This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants, animals, and humans.
No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered as theory, not fact.
The word "evolution" may refer to many types of change. Evolution describes changes that occur within a species. (White moths, for example, may "evolve" into gray moths.) This process is microevolution, which can be observed and described as fact. Evolution may also refer to the change of one living thing to another, such as reptiles into birds. This process, called macroevolution, has never been observed and should be considered a theory. Evolution also refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.
"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including:
- Why did the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the "Cambrian Explosion")?
- Why have no new major groups of living things appeared in the fossil record for a long time?
- Why do major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record?
- How did you and all living things come to possess such a complete and
complex set of "Instructions" for building a living body?"
In April 1994, the Tangipahoa School Board, in Louisiana, passed a policy mandating that a disclaimer be presented before any discussion of evolutionary theory. The policy states:
"Whenever, in classes of elementary or high school, the scientific theory of evolution is to be presented, whether from textbook, workbook, pamphlet, other written material, or oral presentation, the following statement shall be quoted immediately before the unit of study begins as a disclaimer from endorsement of such theory."It is hereby recognized by the Tangipahoa Board of Education, that the lesson to be presented, regarding the origin of life and matter, is known as the Scientific Theory of Evolution and should be presented to inform students of the scientific concept and not intended to influence or dissuade the Biblical version of Creation or any other concept.
"It is further recognized by the Board of Education that it is the basic right and privilege of each student to form his/her own opinion and maintain beliefs taught by parents on this very important matter of the origin of life and matter. Students are urged to exercise critical thinking and gather all information possible and closely examine each alternative toward forming an opinion." (US Circuit Court, Freiler v Tangipahoa Board of Ed, 1999)
A number of parents in the school district filed suit. In the Freiler v Tangipahoa Board of Education case, the Federal District judge ruled that the disclaimer was an unconstitutional establishment of religion. This decision was upheld on appeal by the Federal Circuit Court. In its opinion upholding the appeal, the Circuit Court writes, "We conclude that the primary effect of the disclaimer is to protect and maintain a particular religious viewpoint, namely belief in the Biblical version of creation," and noted that the stated purpose of the disclaimer, to "exercise critical thinking", was "a sham" (US Circuit Court, Freiler v Tangipahoa Board of Ed, 1999) .
"In reaching this conclusion, we rely on the interplay of three factors: (1) the juxtaposition of the disavowal of endorsement of evolution with an urging that students contemplate alternative theories of the origin of life; (2) the reminder that students have the right to maintain beliefs taught by their parents regarding the origin of life; and (3) the ‘Biblical version of Creation’ as the only alternative theory explicitly referenced in the disclaimer." (US Circuit Court, Freiler v Tangipahoa Board of Ed 1999)
In June 2000, the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the Freiler case and let the Circuit Court's ruling stand.
In February 2000, the Attorney General of Oklahoma ruled that the State Education Board there had no legal authority to require biology textbooks to carry a disclaimer similar to the ones in Washington and Louisiana. He also concluded that the Board had violated state law by adopting the proposed disclaimer without previous public notice or discussion. Just a few weeks later, the Board voted to reject a total of five biology textbooks because they discussed evolution.
The Freiler ruling made it likely that all the remaining "disclaimers" would also be rejected by the Courts on Constitutional grounds. And indeed, the creationists lost yet another "disclaimer" case in January 2005, when a Federal judge in Georgia ruled that such disclaimers violated the separation of church and state. "Due to the manner in which the sticker refers to evolution as a theory, the sticker also has the effect of undermining evolution education to the benefit of those Cobb County citizens who would prefer that students maintain their religious beliefs regarding the origin of life," Judge Clarence Cooper wrote in his ruling. "The distinction of evolution as a theory rather than a fact is the distinction that religiously motivated individuals have specifically asked school boards to make in the most recent anti-evolution movement, and that was exactly what parents in Cobb County did in this case," he ruled. "The school board has effectively improperly entangled itself with religion by appearing to take a position," Cooper concluded. "Therefore, the sticker must be removed from all of the textbooks into which it has been placed." (Selman v Cobb County School District, US District Court, January 2005) Just as had creation "scientists" at the time of their loss in Arkansas, the IDers immediately began whining that they had only lost because the lawyer for the county had presented "an incompetent defense" of the law. ("Incompetent Defense by Cobb County Attorney May Have Caused School District Loss", Discovery Institute Website, January 13, 2005)
However, despite their steady string of losses regarding "disclaimer stickers", the ID movement at the same time was pursuing an alternative strategy.
In 2001, the Discovery Institute took the anti-evolution issue to the Federal level. The "intelligent design" movement got its first legal test in June 2001, when the Senate was debating the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Authorization Bill (later renamed the "No Child Left Behind" Act). During the debate, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum introduced an amendment that had been partially written by Discovery Institute adviser Phillip Johnson (and based on a law journal article written by Discovery Institute activist David DeWolf). The Santorum Amendment read:
"It is the sense of the Senate that (1) good science education should prepare students to distinguish the data or testable theories of science from philosophical or religious claims that are made in the name of science; and (2) where biological evolution is taught, the curriculum should help students to understand why the subject generates so much continuing controversy, and should prepare the students to be informed participants in public discussions regarding the subject."
Because the House version of the No Child Left Behind Act did not include any corresponding version of the Santorum Amendment, a House/Senate Conference Committee was required to reach agreement on a joint bill to be agreed upon by both chambers of Congress. After a flood of letters and testimony from prominent science and education groups pointed out that the Santorum amendment was nothing but a thinly veiled excuse for teaching "intelligent design theory" in classrooms, the conference committee dropped the amendment, noting, in their Conference Report, "The conferees recognize that a quality science education should prepare students to distinguish the data and testable theories of science from religious or philosophical claims that are made in the name of science. Where topics are taught that may generate controversy (such as biological evolution), the curriculum should help students to understand the full range of scientific views that exist, why such topics may generate controversy, and how scientific discoveries can profoundly affect society." When the final version of the No Child Left Behind bill was passed by both the House and the Senate, it did not contain any portion of the Santorum Amendment.
Creationists/IDers and their supporters have, however, attempted to claim that the No Child Left Behind bill not only permits but actually requires schools to teach "intelligent design theory". Santorum himself, for instance, wrote in March 2002, "At the beginning of the year, President Bush signed into law the "No Child Left Behind" bill. The new law includes a science education provision where Congress states that "where topics are taught that may generate controversy (such as biological evolution), the curriculum should help students to understand the full range of scientific views that exist. If the Education Board of Ohio does not include intelligent design in the new teaching standards, many students will be denied a first-rate science education." (Washington Times, March 14, 2002, cited in "ID-Activists-Guide", NCSE website). Two Ohio Congressmen also claimed, "The Santorum language is now part of the law". (Washington Times, March 20, 2002, cited in "ID-Activists-Guide"). Neither of these claims, of course, are true --- the Santorum language was dropped from the bill in committee, and the only time it is mentioned is in the accompanying Conference Report, which is not a part of the bill and has no legal force or authority.
The topic of the Santorum Amendment was brought up in Ohio as the result of another legal effort to force "intelligent design theory" into school classrooms. In early 2002, the state of Ohio was carrying out a review of its statewide science curriculum, when chemist Robert Lattimer, of a pro-ID "citizens group" called Science Excellence for All Ohioans (SEAO), objected to the prominence of evolution in the science standards, and lobbied for inclusion of "intelligent design theory" as a "scientific alternative" to evolution. IDers had also captured the state education board's standards committee, where five of the 8 members were ID supporters. At a meeting in January 2002, they argued in favor of making, in the standards, "a clear distinction between the different understandings of evolution as minor genetic variation versus evolution as a single common ancestry", and referred to evolution as "a theory, or an assumption, but not a fact". (cited in Forrest and Gross, p.228) When word of this got out, a statewide organization, Ohio Citizens for Science, was formed to oppose the ID efforts and to protect the integrity of Ohio's science standards, and the battle was joined.
The IDers on the standards committee invited Lattimer to join the team that was writing the new standards, and held hearings which included a presentation by attorney John Calvert, from IDNet, a national ID organization. Calvert tried to argue to the committee that it might face legal action if it excluded ID from the standards:
"The effect of modern origins science is to imbue a belief in naturalism . . A Constitutional issue arises when the state decides to teach origins science. The reason is that origins science unavoidably takes students into a religious arena . . . The question then becomes, when the state decides to enter this religious arena, can it choose to use a practice -- methodological naturalism -- to censor the design hypothesis? Can it choose to simply tell teachers to hide the evidence of design? . . . Are you causing the state to be neutral or are you causing it to imbue Ohioans in a belief in naturalism -- a non-religion? I think you will be involved in unconstitutional indoctrination." (cited in Forrest and Gross, p.230)
The effort soon attracted the attention of the Discovery Institute, which unleashed all its lobbying abilities in an effort to push ID "theory" into the Ohio science standards. However, it also attracted a widespread effort by science and education groups to oppose the IDers. In the face of this opposition, the IDers introduced a "compromise" which would, according to Meyer, "permit, but not require" students to be taught about ID's "alternative theory". "Instead," Meyer offered, "I proposed that Ohio teachers should teach the scientific controversy about Darwinian evolution." (cited in Forrest and Gross, p 231)
Friendly legislators introduced a bill into the State House of Representatives which read:
"Sec. 3313.6013. It is the intent of the general assembly that to enhance the effectiveness of science education and to promote academic freedom and the neutrality of state government with respect to teachings that touch religious and nonreligious beliefs, it is necessary and desirable that "origins science," which seeks to explain the origins of life and its diversity, be conducted and taught objectively and without religious, naturalistic, or philosophic bias or assumption. To further this intent, the instructional program provided by any school district or educational service center shall do all of the following:(A) Encourage the presentation of scientific evidence regarding the origins of life and its diversity objectively and without religious, naturalistic, or philosophic bias or assumption;
(B) Require that whenever explanations regarding the origins of life are presented, appropriate explanation and disclosure shall be provided regarding the historical nature of origins science and the use of any material assumption which may have provided a basis for the explanation being presented;
(C) Encourage the development of curriculum that will help students think critically, understand the full range of scientific views that exist regarding the origins of life, and understand why origins science may generate controversy." (Ohio House Bill 481)
The Discovery Institute brought out all its big guns in Ohio, including such luminaries as Johnson and Dembski, but in the end, the legislative bills all failed in the face of heavy public opposition, including Ohio Citizens for Science. Not only did the Ohio board not include "intelligent design theory" in its final standards, but it specifically excluded it by name. Although students under the new science standards should be able to "describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory", the board noted, "The intent of this indicator does not mandate the teaching or testing of Intelligent Design." (Ohio Board of Education, December 10, 2002)
"Intelligent design" advocates, however, seized on the words "critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory", and immediately re-introduced "intelligent design theory" through the back door, using the new "teach the controversy" strategy. As part of the new strategy, members of the Ohio Board of Education proposed a "model lesson plan" that was largely written by Discovery Institute members and supporters, entitled "Critical Analysis of Evolution". The model lesson pointed out the same supposed "scientific problems with evolution" that the Discovery Institute had been preaching for years. Included in the model lesson plan were "goals" such as:
"Describe one piece of evidence used to challenge evolution and explain why it is important.Compare and contrast the supporting and challenging information regarding the aspect of evolution you studied.
Evaluate the scientific data supporting and challenging areas of evolution in light of the scientific method. In other words, is the data that is used to support or challenge evolution consistent or inconsistent with the scientific method? Are there any limitations? (NOTE: steps of scientific method: Observation, hypothesis, test, retest and conclusion)."
The model lesson plan included links to several Internet websites from the Discovery Institute and other supporters of intelligent design "theory". These websites were later dropped after heavy criticism. Also dropped was a direct reference to the anti-evolution book Icons of Evolution, written by Discovery Institute member Jonathan Wells.
In March 2003, the Board passed a modified version of the lesson plan which, while erasing all of the references to intelligent design "theory", nevertheless accepted most of the Discovery Institute's "teach the controversy" strategy and included many of the supposed "scientific criticisms of evolution" that have been trotted out for years by the Discovery Institute and other creationists.
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