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Message text written by Informal Science Education Network
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To our colleagues:

Since January 1, 2004 at least four more state public education programs -
Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma -- have become further embroiled in
the debate of why evolution is taught as actual science and the concept of
"intelligent design" or creationism is not.  The April/May edition of NSTA
Reports has a feature article on recent developments in this move to give
equal time to creationism.   

Public treatments of this issue range from attempts at the deletion of
references to evolution in state science standards (GA) to state bills
providing for the immediate termination of an educator who willfully
neglects to teach "intelligent design" as a scientific principle (MO).  
The Oklahoma House passed a "disclaimer" law, 96-0, which frames evolution
as follows:" "No one was present when life first appeared on Earth.
Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered as
theory, not fact." 

This movement has, in some fashion, now affected a majority of states in
the nation and ultimately positions ecological and environmental education
as secular and perhaps even anti-religious.  This has particular
implications for the official public standing of nature, ecology and
biodiversity education -- texts, lesson plans, field trips, curricula,
professional development andmore.  Many of our colleagues in the
environmental and conservation field may want to know more about this
ongoing movement. See, for example: http://www.natcenscied.org/    or
www.nsta.org  

Best,    Kevin Coyle
www.neetf.org 
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