Louisiana Science Education Act
Encyclopedia
The Louisiana Science Education Act is a law
that was passed by the Louisiana Legislature
in June 2008. It was then signed by Governor Bobby Jindal
.
The national and international scientific community
recognizes the Louisiana Science Education Act to be an anti-evolution
law whose purpose is to allow creationism into public school science classrooms.
," a bill meant to undermine the teaching of evolution
in public school science classrooms. The campaign to pass such laws is run by the Discovery Institute
, a think tank
which advocates for teaching intelligent design creationism. The purpose of this type of legislation is to circumvent court rulings in cases such as Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
and Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District (2005) which invalidated the teaching of creationism
and intelligent design creationism
in public school science classes. Louisiana
is the only state
that has passed a law of this type.
The language in the Louisiana Science Education Act was originally derived from the Discovery Institute’s Model Academic Freedom Statute. This language has also been used in Ouachita Parish’s Science Curriculum Policy, and the Santorum Amendment
, which did not become law.
(SB 561) named the "Louisiana Academic Freedom Act," was pre-filed on March 21, 2008 in the Louisiana Senate
by the Education Committee chair, Ben Nevers
, a Bogalusa Democrat
. On 21 April 2008 Representative Frank Hoffman
, a Republican
who was the assistant superintendent of the Ouachita Parish school system at the time it adopted its earlier anti-evolution Academic Freedom policy, introduced an identical bill into the Louisiana House of Representatives
(HB 1168). On April 22, 2008, the “Louisiana Academic Freedom Act" was renamed the "Louisiana Science Education Act" (and renumbered SB 733), and passed the Senate unanimously on April 28, 2008. On June 11, 2008 the House bill was passed by a vote of 94-3. In late June 2008 Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
signed the bill into law, despite his Brown University
genetics
professor imploring him to veto
the law and to not “do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors."
Dr. Barbara Forrest
, a prominent critic of the Discovery Institute
and the intelligent design
movement, has explained that she thinks the law itself passed because,
law, because it singles out specific scientific theories
, which happen to be political controversies for teachers to “critique and review” using “supplemental materials.” The theories in question include “evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and cloning.”
Jerry Coyne
, a prominent biologist and President of the Society for the Study of Evolution
sarcastically illustrated what he perceived as problematic about the law by saying,
Prominent critic of the law, Zack Kopplin explained,
Another prominent critic, Dr. Barbara Forrest
, is also wary of the law because the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's initial draft policy to implement the Louisiana Science Education Act was changed under pressure from a local conservative Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum
. The initial draft would have explicitly prohibited teaching religion under the guise of 'critical thinking' and using creationist materials in public school science classrooms. Dr. Forrest said,
The Americans United for Separation of Church and State
is also worried about the process for parents to challenge supplemental materials brought into the classroom, because “the proposed procedure for reviewing challenged supplemental materials... appears designed to provide a forum for promoting creationism
.
Also, supporters of the law have openly admitted that its purpose is to bring creationism into public school science classrooms. In July 2010, the Livingston Parish school board discussed using this law to teach creationism in public school science class. The National Center for Science Education
reported,
Senator Ben Nevers
, the sponsor of the Louisiana Science Education Act, has also said that the Louisiana Family Forum suggested the bill because “They believe that scientific data related to creationism should be discussed when dealing with Darwin's theory.”
The law was written with a caveat: it says that it should not be construed "to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion."
Critics like James Gill, who writes for the New Orleans Times Picayune dismiss this clause. Gill says the line was “written with a nod and a wink, and it just goes to show how much craftier the obscurantists have become.” This wording is a religion disclaimer from the Discovery Institute’s model bill and is in all of the different variants of the bill in every state where it has been introduced.
announced that it would not hold its 2011 conference in New Orleans "in large part" because of the Act, and because of their "firm opinion ... that this law undermines the integrity of science and science education in Louisiana."
Prominent critic of the Louisiana Science Education Act, Zack Kopplin, has stated that the law “leaves our students at a disadvantage when competing for jobs in the global economy. To illustrate this, he often humorously refers to the fact that when you search creationism
on Monster.com
or CareerBuilder
you get “zero jobs,” while when you search biology
, you find over 1000.
, Zack Kopplin, became fed up with the Louisiana Science Education Act. He decided to try to repeal the law as his high school senior project
. He started working on a repeal with Barbara Forrest
, who was an expert witness
at the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial and was responsible for demonstrating intelligent design
was simply creationism dressed up to appear scientific.
According to Kopplin, he is organizing Louisiana “students, scientists, clergy, teachers, and business leaders in support of repealing the Louisiana Science Education Act.”
They convinced Senator Karen Carter Peterson
, a Democrat
from New Orleans, to sponsor their repeal bill. Representative Walt Leger III
, who represents part of Senator Peterson’s district, agreed to handle the legislation in the House. Senator Peterson introduced SB 70 to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act on April 14, 2011.
The repeal effort gained support nationally and internationally. It is supported by over 60 Nobel laureate scientists, the City of New Orleans, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, the largest general science organization in the world with over 10 million members, and many other organizations. The list from Kopplin's website is reproduced here:
SB 70 was heard in the Senate Education Committee on May 26th, 2011. After a heated debate, where in response to being presented the Nobel laureate letter, Senator Julie Quinn
declared she was “tired of seeing little letters behind everyone’s names,” the Senate Education Committee voted 5-1 to defer action on SB 70, in effect killing it. The sole vote for SB 70 was Senator Yvonne Dorsey.
Despite being defeated this year, the leaders of the repeal have vowed to continue it next year.
bills were proposed in various legislatures in 2011. The effort to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act may have had an effect in dampening the pressure to pass those bills.
Also, the Louisiana Coalition for Science was able to stop two new efforts to put creationism in Louisiana classrooms after the passage of the Louisiana Science Education Act. First, they convinced the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
to adopt new biology
books after creationists attempted to have the books thrown out. Then they also succeeded in killing a Louisiana House bill (HB 580) which was meant to weaken the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s oversight of public school biology books and supplementary materials.
to back up her 2006 statements about Nobel laureate
scientists who believed in intelligent design creationism
. He challenged her to match the 44 Nobel laureates backing the repeal. Because she chose not to answer the question when it was asked at the Republican Leadership Conference
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2011/06/17/michelle-bachmann-on-intelligent-design, creationism became an issue in the 2012 presidential election
.
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
that was passed by the Louisiana Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
in June 2008. It was then signed by Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
.
The national and international scientific community
Scientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
recognizes the Louisiana Science Education Act to be an anti-evolution
Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns
Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns are a series of related public relations campaigns conducted by the Discovery Institute which seek to promote intelligent design while attempting to discredit evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism." The Discovery Institute is the...
law whose purpose is to allow creationism into public school science classrooms.
Academic freedom
The Louisiana Science Education Act is an "Academic Freedom lawAcademic Freedom bills
Academic Freedom bills are a series of antievolution bills introduced in state legislatures in the United States between 2004 and 2009. They assert that teachers, students, and college professors face intimidation and retaliation when discussing scientific criticisms of evolution, and therefore...
," a bill meant to undermine the teaching of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
in public school science classrooms. The campaign to pass such laws is run by the Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
, a think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
which advocates for teaching intelligent design creationism. The purpose of this type of legislation is to circumvent court rulings in cases such as Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
Edwards v. Aguillard
Edwards v. Aguillard, was a legal case about the teaching of creationism that was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law...
and Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District (2005) which invalidated the teaching of creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and intelligent design creationism
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
in public school science classes. Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
is the only state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
that has passed a law of this type.
The language in the Louisiana Science Education Act was originally derived from the Discovery Institute’s Model Academic Freedom Statute. This language has also been used in Ouachita Parish’s Science Curriculum Policy, and the Santorum Amendment
Santorum Amendment
The Santorum Amendment was an amendment to the 2001 education funding bill which became known as the No Child Left Behind Act, proposed by former Republican United States Senator Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania, which promotes the teaching of intelligent design while questioning the academic...
, which did not become law.
Passage of the Act
A billBill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
(SB 561) named the "Louisiana Academic Freedom Act," was pre-filed on March 21, 2008 in the Louisiana Senate
Louisiana State Senate
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All Senators serve four year terms and are assigned multiple committees to work on. The Republicans control the State Senate following a Special Election Victory in District 26 by Jonathan W. Perry...
by the Education Committee chair, Ben Nevers
Ben Nevers
Ben Wayne Nevers is an electrical contractor from Bogalusa, Louisiana, who has been since 2004 a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 12, which includes parts of Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes...
, a Bogalusa Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. On 21 April 2008 Representative Frank Hoffman
Frank Hoffman
For the Louisiana politician, see Frank Hoffmann.For the 19th-century baseball player, see Frank Hoffman .Frank Hoffman was an American football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978....
, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
who was the assistant superintendent of the Ouachita Parish school system at the time it adopted its earlier anti-evolution Academic Freedom policy, introduced an identical bill into the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
(HB 1168). On April 22, 2008, the “Louisiana Academic Freedom Act" was renamed the "Louisiana Science Education Act" (and renumbered SB 733), and passed the Senate unanimously on April 28, 2008. On June 11, 2008 the House bill was passed by a vote of 94-3. In late June 2008 Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
signed the bill into law, despite his Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
professor imploring him to veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
the law and to not “do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors."
Dr. Barbara Forrest
Barbara Forrest
Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...
, a prominent critic of the Discovery Institute
Discovery Institute
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
and the intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
movement, has explained that she thinks the law itself passed because,
"In Louisiana, we had no organizational framework to respond to [the Louisiana Science Education Act]. One of the ways that Florida, for example, has kept [creationism] out is they have a very active, well organized Florida Citizens for Science. At the time we didn’t have that. I and a couple of people, very, very quickly, had to get something together. [Although] there weren’t very many of us… we did put up some opposition, but Louisiana Family Forum had been planning such a move probably since their founding in 1998."
Creationism
Critics of the Louisiana Science Education Act call the law a creationismCreationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
law, because it singles out specific scientific theories
Scientific theory
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
, which happen to be political controversies for teachers to “critique and review” using “supplemental materials.” The theories in question include “evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and cloning.”
Jerry Coyne
Jerry Coyne
-Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* ", The New Republic * -Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* , The New Republic* ", The New Republic (Review of Michael Behe's The Edge of Evolution)* -Online articles:* , The New Republic* , The...
, a prominent biologist and President of the Society for the Study of Evolution
Society for the Study of Evolution
The Society for the Study of Evolution is a professional organization of evolutionary biologists. It was formed in the United States in 1946 to promote evolution and the integration of various fields of science concerned with evolution and to organize the publication of a scientific journal to...
sarcastically illustrated what he perceived as problematic about the law by saying,
“Yep, we don’t need more critical thinking in areas like physics, chemistry, or medicine—just human cloning, evolution, and global warming.”
Prominent critic of the law, Zack Kopplin explained,
“You don't need a law to teach critical thinking. That's what science is. You need a law to teach creationism.”
Another prominent critic, Dr. Barbara Forrest
Barbara Forrest
Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...
, is also wary of the law because the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's initial draft policy to implement the Louisiana Science Education Act was changed under pressure from a local conservative Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
. The initial draft would have explicitly prohibited teaching religion under the guise of 'critical thinking' and using creationist materials in public school science classrooms. Dr. Forrest said,
“The initial version of the policy contained two crucial statements that would have prohibited school districts from doing what the legislative sponsors and creationist authors of the LA Science Education Act designed the law to allow them to do: (1) “Religious beliefs shall not be advanced under the guise of encouraging critical thinking”; and (2) “Materials that teach creationism or intelligent design or that advance the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind shall be prohibited for use in science classes.”
[President of the Louisiana Family Forum, Rev. Gene Mills] referred to these statements as expressing “religious hostility” and “a cheap shot.” In doing so, he revealed his true intent concerning both the LSEA and the BESE policy: to promote and protect the religious agenda of the LA Family Forum and its Discovery Institute accomplices. If, as Mills keeps insisting, the LSEA were only intended to promote good science education and not to promote creationism, there would be no reason for him to object to the initial policy’s prohibition against teaching “creationism or intelligent design or that advance the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind.”
In the revised policy introduced at the S/SPS Committee meeting on January 13, 2009, the first statement had been deleted prior to the meeting. To the second statement, another had been added: “Evaluations of supplementary materials shall be made without regard to the religious or non-religious beliefs and affiliations of the authors of supplementary materials.” This new sentence was clearly added to prohibit any supplemental material from being challenged based on its having been authored by creationists.”
The Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans...
is also worried about the process for parents to challenge supplemental materials brought into the classroom, because “the proposed procedure for reviewing challenged supplemental materials... appears designed to provide a forum for promoting creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
.
Also, supporters of the law have openly admitted that its purpose is to bring creationism into public school science classrooms. In July 2010, the Livingston Parish school board discussed using this law to teach creationism in public school science class. The National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
reported,
The director of curriculum for [Livingston Parish] reportedly told the board that, under the Louisiana Science Education Act, schools are allowed to present "critical thinking and creationism" in science classes. The response from the board was enthusiastic, with David Tate asking, "Why can't we get someone with religious beliefs to teach creationism?" and Clint Mitchell adding, "Teachers should have the freedom to look at creationism and find a way to get it into the classroom."
Senator Ben Nevers
Ben Nevers
Ben Wayne Nevers is an electrical contractor from Bogalusa, Louisiana, who has been since 2004 a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 12, which includes parts of Washington, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa parishes...
, the sponsor of the Louisiana Science Education Act, has also said that the Louisiana Family Forum suggested the bill because “They believe that scientific data related to creationism should be discussed when dealing with Darwin's theory.”
The law was written with a caveat: it says that it should not be construed "to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion."
Critics like James Gill, who writes for the New Orleans Times Picayune dismiss this clause. Gill says the line was “written with a nod and a wink, and it just goes to show how much craftier the obscurantists have become.” This wording is a religion disclaimer from the Discovery Institute’s model bill and is in all of the different variants of the bill in every state where it has been introduced.
Backlash
In February 2009 the Society for Integrative and Comparative BiologySociety for Integrative and Comparative Biology
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is organized to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology. The society is dedicated to promoting the pursuit and dissemination of important information relating to biology...
announced that it would not hold its 2011 conference in New Orleans "in large part" because of the Act, and because of their "firm opinion ... that this law undermines the integrity of science and science education in Louisiana."
Prominent critic of the Louisiana Science Education Act, Zack Kopplin, has stated that the law “leaves our students at a disadvantage when competing for jobs in the global economy. To illustrate this, he often humorously refers to the fact that when you search creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
on Monster.com
Monster.com
Monster.com is one of the largest employment websites in the world, owned and operated by Monster Worldwide, Inc. Monster is one of the 20 most visited websites out of 100 million worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrics...
or CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder.com is the largest online employment website in the United States, with more than 23 million unique visitors each month and a 34% market share of help-wanted web sites in the United States. CareerBuilder.com provides online career search services for more than 1,900 partners as of...
you get “zero jobs,” while when you search biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, you find over 1000.
Repeal effort
In early June 2010, a student at Baton Rouge Magnet High SchoolBaton Rouge Magnet High School
Baton Rouge Magnet High School is a magnet school in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was founded in the early 1890s. The current school building was built in 1928, and, as Baton Rouge High School, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986...
, Zack Kopplin, became fed up with the Louisiana Science Education Act. He decided to try to repeal the law as his high school senior project
Senior Project
Senior ProjectStudents, usually in their senior year of high school, choose a topic of interest to them and create a senior project that consists of the four P's:* Paper* Project* Portfolio* Presentation-How it works:...
. He started working on a repeal with Barbara Forrest
Barbara Forrest
Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...
, who was an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
at the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial and was responsible for demonstrating intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
was simply creationism dressed up to appear scientific.
According to Kopplin, he is organizing Louisiana “students, scientists, clergy, teachers, and business leaders in support of repealing the Louisiana Science Education Act.”
They convinced Senator Karen Carter Peterson
Karen Carter Peterson
Karen Carter Peterson is a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, representing the 5th District since 2010. She previously served as the representative from District 93 , in the Louisiana House of Representatives and as Speaker Pro Tempore...
, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
from New Orleans, to sponsor their repeal bill. Representative Walt Leger III
Walt Leger III
Walter “Walt” John Leger, III , since 2007 state representative for Louisiana House District 91, was born 1978 June 22 to Walter, Jr., and Cathy Leger. Walt Leger, III, is the oldest of three siblings. A Democrat, he was elected with support of a broad coalition of Democrats and Republicans.Leger...
, who represents part of Senator Peterson’s district, agreed to handle the legislation in the House. Senator Peterson introduced SB 70 to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act on April 14, 2011.
The repeal effort gained support nationally and internationally. It is supported by over 60 Nobel laureate scientists, the City of New Orleans, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, the largest general science organization in the world with over 10 million members, and many other organizations. The list from Kopplin's website is reproduced here:
Cities:
- The city of New Orleans. The city council voted unanimously (7-0) in support of repealing the Louisiana Science Education Act.
Clergy:
- The Clergy Letter Project
Clergy Letter ProjectThe Clergy Letter Project is an project that maintains statements in support of the teaching of evolution and in opposition to the teaching of creationism in public schools and collects signatures in support of the letter from American Christian, Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist clergy. The...
Scientists:
- Fifty-Seven Nobel laureates have signed a letter to the Louisiana Legislature in support of the repeal.
- Prominent scientists have endorsed the repeal:
- Dr. Francisco J. Ayala
Francisco J. AyalaFrancisco José Ayala Pereda is a Spanish-American biologist and philosopher at the University of California, Irvine. He is a former Dominican priest, ordained in 1960, but left the priesthood that same year. After graduating from the University of Salamanca, he moved to the US in 1961 to study for...- Dr. Niles Eldredge
Niles EldredgeNiles Eldredge is an American paleontologist, who, along with Stephen Jay Gould, proposed the theory of punctuated equilibrium in 1972.-Education:...- Dr. Susan Epperson
Epperson v. ArkansasEpperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 , was a United States Supreme Court case that invalidated an Arkansas statute that prohibited the teaching of human evolution in the public schools...- Dr. Kenneth R. Miller
Kenneth R. MillerKenneth Raymond Miller is a biology professor at Brown University. Miller, who is Roman Catholic, is particularly known for his opposition to creationism, including the intelligent design movement...- Dr. Neil Shubin
Neil ShubinNeil Shubin is an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer. He is the Robert R. Bensley Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Associate Dean of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Professor on the Committee of Evolutionary Biology at the University of...- Dr. John Sulston (the 52nd Nobel laureate scientist)
- Dr. Tim D. White
- Dr. Paul R. Gross
Paul R. GrossPaul R. Gross is a biologist and author, perhaps best known to the general public for Higher Superstition , written with Norman Levitt. Gross is the University Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Virginia; he previously served the university as Provost and Vice-President...
and Dr. Lawrence Lerner issued statements in support of the repeal.
Organizations of Educators:
- The Louisiana Science Teachers Association
- The Louisiana Association of Biology Educators
- The National Association of Biology Teachers
National Association of Biology TeachersThe National Association of Biology Teachers is an American-based scholarly society that "empowers educators to provide the best possible biology and life science education for all students."...
National Science Organizations:
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...- The American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Biological SciencesThe American Institute of Biological Sciences is a non-profit scientific association that is dedicated to advancing biological research and education.-Overview:...- The American Society for Cell Biology
- The Society for the Study of Evolution
Society for the Study of EvolutionThe Society for the Study of Evolution is a professional organization of evolutionary biologists. It was formed in the United States in 1946 to promote evolution and the integration of various fields of science concerned with evolution and to organize the publication of a scientific journal to...
, cosigned by Society of Systematic Biologists and American Society of NaturalistsAmerican Society of NaturalistsThe American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America...- The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Vertebrate PaleontologyThe Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. SVP now has almost 2,000 members. The society's website states that SVP "is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes...- The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyThe American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is a learned society that was founded on December 26, 1906 at a meeting organized by John Jacob Abel...
SB 70 was heard in the Senate Education Committee on May 26th, 2011. After a heated debate, where in response to being presented the Nobel laureate letter, Senator Julie Quinn
Julie Quinn
Julie Ann Unangst Quinn is an attorney from Metairie, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate...
declared she was “tired of seeing little letters behind everyone’s names,” the Senate Education Committee voted 5-1 to defer action on SB 70, in effect killing it. The sole vote for SB 70 was Senator Yvonne Dorsey.
Despite being defeated this year, the leaders of the repeal have vowed to continue it next year.
Creationism
Nine anti-evolution billsAcademic Freedom bills
Academic Freedom bills are a series of antievolution bills introduced in state legislatures in the United States between 2004 and 2009. They assert that teachers, students, and college professors face intimidation and retaliation when discussing scientific criticisms of evolution, and therefore...
bills were proposed in various legislatures in 2011. The effort to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act may have had an effect in dampening the pressure to pass those bills.
Also, the Louisiana Coalition for Science was able to stop two new efforts to put creationism in Louisiana classrooms after the passage of the Louisiana Science Education Act. First, they convinced the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was created during the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, called by then Governor Edwin W. Edwards...
to adopt new biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
books after creationists attempted to have the books thrown out. Then they also succeeded in killing a Louisiana House bill (HB 580) which was meant to weaken the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s oversight of public school biology books and supplementary materials.
Presidential election of 2012
In late May, Zack Kopplin challenged Michele BachmannMichele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
to back up her 2006 statements about Nobel laureate
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
scientists who believed in intelligent design creationism
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
. He challenged her to match the 44 Nobel laureates backing the repeal. Because she chose not to answer the question when it was asked at the Republican Leadership Conference
Republican Leadership Conference
The Republican Leadership Conference is a political event held in the Southern United States before each presidential election. The event is attended by Republican Party activists, elected officials, and candidates for office. It was formerly known as the Southern Republican Leadership Conference...
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2011/06/17/michelle-bachmann-on-intelligent-design, creationism became an issue in the 2012 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
.
See also
- Academic Freedom billsAcademic Freedom billsAcademic Freedom bills are a series of antievolution bills introduced in state legislatures in the United States between 2004 and 2009. They assert that teachers, students, and college professors face intimidation and retaliation when discussing scientific criticisms of evolution, and therefore...
- Discovery Institute intelligent design campaignsDiscovery Institute intelligent design campaignsDiscovery Institute intelligent design campaigns are a series of related public relations campaigns conducted by the Discovery Institute which seek to promote intelligent design while attempting to discredit evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism." The Discovery Institute is the...
- Critical Analysis of EvolutionCritical Analysis of EvolutionCritical Analysis of Evolution is the name of both a proposed high school science lesson plan promoting intelligent design and a tactic to promote design using Teach the Controversy promoted by the American think tank, Discovery Institute, originators of the intelligent design movement, as part of...
- Academic Bill of RightsAcademic Bill of RightsThe Academic Bill of Rights is a document created and distributed by Students for Academic Freedom, a public advocacy group spun off from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, a think tank founded by former progressive, now conservative activist and writer David Horowitz...
- Edwards v. AguillardEdwards v. AguillardEdwards v. Aguillard, was a legal case about the teaching of creationism that was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law...
- Dover v. Kitzmiller
- Barbara ForrestBarbara ForrestBarbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute.- Biography :...