Bill Labelling Proven Scientific Theories ‘Controversial’ Introduced in Texas
Bill Labelling Proven Scientific Theories ‘Controversial’ Introduced in Texas
On February 2, 2017, a bill (HB 1485) was introduced in the Texas legislature for the stated purpose of providing teachers “with academic freedom” to teach “the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories.” Critics argue that the bill would, if enacted, undermine scientific education by allowing teachers to question proven theories such as evolution and climate change. Those theories were described as “controversial” in the bill, with a declarations provision stating that the teaching of “climate change, biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, and human cloning” is contentious.
| Update: On May 2, 2017, the Texas House of Representatives Public Education Committee held a hearing on HB 1485. During the hearing, a member of the State Board of Education, Tom Maynard, expressed support for the bill on the basis that it would allow the teaching of creationism as an alternative to evolution.
The bill died in Committee on May 8, 2017, when a deadline for it died for it pass expired |
« Silencing Science Tracker home