Texas education board votes to keep curriculum that questions theory of evolution

The Texas Board of Education has voted in favor of keeping the language that challenges the theory of evolution in its high school biology textbooks.

The board, which is composed of 10 Republicans and five Democrats, voted on Wednesday to remove the requirement that "all sides" be presented, but some parts of the curriculum questioning evolution were kept.

Last month, a committee appointed by the board members recommended the removal of four standards that require students to learn about the complexity of cells, the origin of life, and the abrupt appearance and stasis in fossil records. But on Wednesday, the board members voted to reinstate most of the language that the committee wanted to remove.

Some Democratic board members have expressed concern that the move could lead to teachings of intelligent design or creationism in the classroom.

Kathy Miller, president of education advocacy group Texas Freedom Network, stated that teachers have been complaining about the science standards in the curriculum.

"Teachers are practically begging the board to stop forcing them to waste classroom time on junk science standards that are based mostly on the personal agendas of board members themselves, not sound science," Miller said in a news release. "But these politicians just can't seem to stop themselves from making teachers' jobs harder," she added.

Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, who proposed the amendments to reinstate the language, said that she based her proposals on feedback from teachers and industry leaders, who stated in a survey and informal public comment that they want critical thinking to be taught in classrooms.

"Why is it that when I talk to biology teachers...why is it that they look at me with a strange look when I say, 'Do you feel like this standard is opening the door to creation?'" said Cargill, according to My Statesman. "They're just not thinking this way. It's ridiculous. There's been no lawsuits, no huge outcry that creation is being taught in the classroom," she continued.

The four curriculum standards that the committee wanted to be removed was approved by the State Board of Education in 2009. The committee members argued that the requirements in the standards were vague, redundant, or that they would take too much time to teach.

The approved curriculum is only a preliminary version, and the board would vote again before a final decision can be made in April. Once the board adopts the curriculum standards, it would go into effect in the 2017–18 school year.