Evolution bill may lose its 'origins of life' wording

[Henk Elegeert]

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http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635186723,00.html
deseretnews.com | Evolution bill may lose its 'origins of life' wording

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Deseret Morning News, Thursday, February 23, 2006

Evolution bill may lose its 'origins of life' wording
Lawmaker wants to delete all references to 'origins of life'

Copyright 2006 Deseret Morning News

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret Morning News

A controversial bill challenging the way evolution is taught in Utah
public schools is evolving again.

SB96's House sponsor, Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, wants to substitute the
bill a third time, taking out all references to the "origins of life"
but still aiming to keep teachers from telling students they evolved
from apes.

But that can happen only if the House Rules Committee agrees to put the
bill up for its final legislative debate.

The changes didn't win over school officials who oppose the bill,
primarily because it treads on the state school board's authority to set
curriculum.

But a new poll shows Utahns support the Legislature's move to regulate
evolution lessons.

Fifty-five percent of Utah residents surveyed by Dan Jones & Associates
somewhat or strongly favor legislation requiring public school teachers
to "teach that evolution is not indisputably proven and there could be
other reasons for human development."

Forty percent said they strongly or somewhat oppose such a measure, and
5 percent didn't know.

The poll of 415 Utah adults, conducted for the Deseret Morning News and
KSL-TV Feb. 14-16, has a plus or minus 5 percent error margin.

Evolution is central to the high school biology core curriculum.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, last summer said he received parent
complaints that children were being taught they evolved from apes,
bringing into question their faith on creation. His SB96 has attempted
to stop that from happening.

The bill's Senate debates centered on the merits of Charles Darwin's
theory of evolution and were chock-full of religious references.

Opponents have feared the bill would open the door to teaching
creationism or "intelligent design" — the idea that life is too
complicated to be explained in public school by Darwin's theory alone,
which a Pennsylvania federal court earlier this winter struck down as
unconstitutional.

Ferrin attempted to take religion out of the discussion when the bill
came to the House. His proposed substitute would erase references to the
origins of life and tighten language to zero in on evolution.

"We do not presently teach origins of life in our curriculum, and I
didn't want to inadvertently have a requirement (the State Board of
Education) create curriculum to address that," Ferrin said.

So, students could be told there is some evidence that leads to the
inference that apes and humans share a common ancestor. But that could
not be taught as an indisputable fact.

"We can infer all we want to about the origin of the species . . . but
let's not (characterize) those inferences as a proven fact. Let's not
mislead our kids," Ferrin said. "It's not my desire schools be teaching
any notions about religion. But it's also not my desire for us to be
teaching as fact that which has not been proven as fact."

Ferrin said the substitute would address State Office of Education concerns.

But curriculum director Brett Moulding says the new incarnation is "even
more problematic than previous versions of the bill." It steps on state
school board authority to oversee curriculum and misrepresents the
fact-backed theory of evolution, he said.

The bill also still comes from a "poisoned well" of legislative intent
based on religious beliefs, said Carol Lear, director of school law and
legislation for the State Office of Education.

"This is just an evolution . . . from the earlier bill found
unconstitutional several times. It isn't sanitized because it's
substituted and resubstituted and amended and re-amended," she said.

The bill awaits action in the House Rules Committee, which chooses that
bills get heard and which will quietly die. That group has not yet
addressed Senate bills, which won't be debated in the House until
Monday, said chairwoman Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo.

"Honestly, I'm not even thinking about Senate bills. I'm concerned about
House bills, making sure they get a hearing and a chance," she said.

Ferrin believes the House would like the bill in its current state.

"I understand the Senate wants the bill heard, and in the last days of
the session the House and Senate get to cooperate with each other,"
Ferrin said. "I think it's a good bill and it ought to be heard."
...
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Henk Elegeert

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