A bill was introduced in the Arizona legislature that would, if enacted, require teachers to “present both sides” of any “controversial issue.” The term “controversial issue” is defined broadly to include any issue addressed in an “electoral party platform,” and thus would include climate change, which is discussed in the Democratic party platform.

In a television interview, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas suggested that science only “back[s] up part of” the theory of evolution, and “not all of it.” Superintendent Douglas has previously advocated for Florida schools to teach the unproven theory of “intelligent design” as an alternative to evolution.

The Arizona Department of Education revised draft science education standards to limit the teaching of evolution and give teachers greater flexibility to present it as a controversial topic about which scientists disagree.

At a Republican candidate event, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas argued that school children should be taught alternatives to the theory of evolution, including the unproven theory of “intelligent design.”

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed an amicus brief in Exxon Mobil v. Schneiderman. The brief questions the scientific consensus on climate change and the conclusion that it will be “sufficiently dangerous to require urgent policy responses.”