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• Battle over teaching evolution shifts ground [HTML 3,627kb]
  A battle looms in Texas over science textbooks that teach evolution, and the wrestle for control seizes on three words. None of them are “creationism” or intelligent design” or even “creator.”
  
• California considers bill to protect journalism teachers [HTML 2,126kb]
  A state Senate committee has approved a San Francisco lawmaker's proposed legal protections for high school and college journalism teachers after hearing instructors' complaints of retaliation for hard-hitting articles in student newspapers.
  
• Wisconsin school’s costume day sparks uproar [HTML 2,069kb]
  An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office.
  
• Presidential panel calls for focus on core math skills [HTML 4,706kb]
  A presidential panel has declared math education in the United States "broken" and called on schools to focus on ensuring that children master fundamental skills that provide the underpinnings for success in higher math and, ultimately, in high-tech jobs.
  
• Texas school district settles lawsuit over Bible curriculum [HTML 2,894kb]
  A West Texas school district has agreed to change the curriculum for a high school course on the Bible to settle a lawsuit that said it amounted to religious indoctrination.
  
• Virginia district pulls children’s book over gay theme [HTML 3,710kb]
  A children's book about two male penguins that hatch and parent a chick was pulled from library shelves in Loudoun County elementary schools this month after a parent complained that it promoted a gay agenda.
  
• Maryland school district’s sex ed curriculum back in court [HTML 3,006kb]
  The six-year battle over the content of a new sex education curriculum in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has come down to two questions posed in a state court: Can the school board legally teach students that homosexuality is innate? And can the lessons discuss sex acts other than copulation?
  
• Florida debates place of evolution in science standards [HTML 3,024kb]
  As the Florida Board of Education prepares to change science standards in the state's schools, supporters and detractors of evolution are voicing their opinions. The board has held the fourth and last public forum before it votes on new science standards Feb. 19.
  
• Lawsuit alleging a classroom anti-religion bias ignites debate [HTML 4,610kb]
  A lawsuit filed by a student at Capistrano Valley High School in California alleging a classroom anti-religion bias has ignited a flurry of debate about the role a teacher's convictions and faith should play in the classroom.
  
• Florida is poised to explicitly require the teaching of evolution [HTML 2,043kb]
  For the first time in state history, Florida’s science education standards are poised to explicitly require the teaching of evolution.
  
• Science instruction is about to be dissected in Texas [HTML 2,042kb]
  Science instruction is about to be dissected in Texas. The resignation of the state's science curriculum director last month has signaled the beginning of what is shaping up to be a contentious and politically charged revision of the science curriculum, set to begin in earnest in January.
  
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn leads to more curriculum controversy [HTML 4,176kb]
  The racial epithet leapt from the chalkboard. It was listed along with other emotionally charged words designed to illustrate the power of language in an introductory lesson to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
  
• NSBA files amicus brief in Busch v. Marple Newtown Sch. Dist. [HTML 1,648kb]
  NSBA and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) have filed an amicus brief, below, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Busch v. Marple Newtown Sch. Dist.
  
• New York foregoes millions in federal grants for abstinence-only sex education programs [HTML 2,795kb]
  The State of New York has decided to forego millions of dollars in federal grants for abstinence-only sex education programs, state health commissioner Dr. Richard F. Daines has announced.
  
• Oregon high schools adopt Mexico's curriculum to educate Spanish-speaking students [HTML 2,087kb]
  Some Oregon high schools are adopting Mexico's public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students, with textbooks, an online Web site, DVDs, and CDs provided free by Mexico to teach math, science, and even U.S. history.
  
• Groups seek to halt new sex education curriculum [HTML 1,395kb]
  Three groups seeking to halt the new sex education curriculum in Maryland’s Montgomery County schools filed papers yesterday seeking a state court order to prevent the school system from teaching the lessons this fall.
  
• Opponents of Montgomery County sex education take appeals to courts [HTML 2,033kb]
  Opponents of new sex education lessons in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have taken their appeal to the courts. An appeal filed suit in state court seeks to reverse a decision by the Maryland State Board of Education, when it declined to “second-guess the appropriateness” of the new curriculum materials and found no violation of the law.
  
• Teacher publicly condemns program allowing Muslims prayer time during school [HTML 2,876kb]
  Carver Elementary School in San Diego, California has become part of a national debate over religion in schools after a substitute teacher publicly condemned an Arabic language program that gives Muslim students time for prayer during school hours.
  
• Appeals court hears arguments in case over children’s book [HTML 3,554kb]
  A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has heard oral arguments in a case involving the Miami-Dade School Board’s (MDSB) decision to ban a children’s book depicting life in Cuba.
  
• Suit filed on behalf of parents who say Bible course violates their religious liberty [HTML 2,178kb]
  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and People for the American Way Foundation (PFAW) have filed a federal lawsuit against Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) in Odessa, Texas, on behalf of eight parents who say a Bible course violates their religious liberty.
  
• Kansas Board of Education rescinds curriculum standards that cast doubt on evolution [HTML 1,958kb]
  Capping two years of bitter controversy and occasional ridicule, the Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday rescinded science curriculum standards that cast doubt on evolution.
  
• Superintendent names six schools to introduce sexual orientation to students [HTML 1,958kb]
  Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast has named six middle and high schools that will be the first in the Maryland school district to introduce the topic sexual orientation to students.
  
• Families allege violation of parental rights by classroom discussion of homosexuality [HTML 2,015kb]
  Two families have filed a lawsuit in federal court against school officials in Lexington, Massachusetts, alleging that their parental rights were violated when homosexuality was discussed in their children’s classrooms.
  
• Montgomery County, Maryland, school board approves new sex ed curriculum [HTML 2,585kb]
  The Montgomery County, Maryland, school board has approved a new sex education curriculum for eighth and tenth graders that discusses sexual orientation and condoms.
  
• Sex education curricula in the State of Washington prohibits discussion of contraception [HTML 2,878kb]
  According to a survey commissioned by Healthy Youth Alliance (HYA), approximately a third of public schools in the State of Washington have sex education curricula that prohibit teachers from discussing condoms or any other form of contraception except abstinence.
  
• Montgomery County, Maryland’s sex education curriculum invokes state regulatory code [HTML 2,789kb]
  The overhaul of Montgomery County, Maryland’s sex education curriculum, which has inspired a lawsuit, petition drives, national news coverage, and the formation of fiercely polarized community groups, was itself inspired by two words buried deep within the regulatory code of Maryland, advising school systems to teach "sexual variations."
  
• Michigan district considers bible study class in response to parent's request [HTML 2,269kb]
  In response to a parent’s request, Howell Public Schools (HPS) in Livingston County, Michigan is considering adding a Bible study class as an elective course.
  
• Georgia’s Cobb County School Board settles evolution sticker suit [HTML 2,464kb]
  Georgia’s Cobb County School Board has settled a lawsuit brought by parents who challenged a board policy of pasting stickers into science textbooks warning that evolution is “a theory, not a fact.”
  
• Harry Potter series will stay on the shelves of school libraries in Gwinnett County, Georgia [HTML 2,183kb]
  Author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series will stay on the shelves of school libraries in Gwinnett County, Georgia, despite a parent’s formal complaint that the books are violent and promote witchcraft and the Wicca religion.
  
• Louisiana school board approves “academic freedom” policy for teachers covering controversial topics [HTML 3,420kb]
  The Ouachita Parish School Board in Louisiana has approved a policy that grants teachers “academic freedom” when teaching topics that might generate controversy, including evolution.
  
• Children's book about two male penguins who adopt and raise a baby penguin upsets parents [HTML 3,256kb]
  A picture book about two male penguins adopting and raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents in Shiloh, Illinois who worry about the book's availability to Shiloh Elementary School students—and the reluctance of administrators to restrict access to it.
  
• San Francisco Board of Education removes JROTC programs because of “don't ask, don't tell” policy [HTML 2,966kb]
  The San Francisco Board of Education has voted 4-2 to phase out Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs in the city’s public schools because of the Pentagon’s “don't ask, don't tell” policy regarding gay service members.
  
• Teachers union and ACLU-MA claim school officials are stifling fee speech [HTML 2,549kb]
  The Andover, Massachusetts teachers union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLU-MA) claim school officials at Andover High School (AHS) are stifling free speech because they cancelled a talk by speakers critical of the U.S. and Israeli governments.
  
• McLean High School eases mandate that students submit essays to anti-plagiarism service [HTML 3,800kb]
  McLean High School (MHS) in Fairfax County, Virginia has eased a mandate that students submit essays and other writing assignments to a for-profit anti-plagiarism service known as Turnitin.
  
• Michigan State Board of Education unanimously approves curriculum guidelines supporting evolution but not intelligent design [HTML 2,348kb]
  The Michigan State Board of Education has unanimously approved curriculum guidelines that support the teaching of evolution, but not intelligent design, in science classes.
  
• Parent seeks to have Harry Potter removed from school libraries [HTML 3,250kb]
  A Gwinnett County, Georgia parent is seeking to have the Harry Potter book series removed from school libraries. Laura Mallory contends the books are harmful to children and promote the Wicca religion.
  
• OBOE's critical thinking proposal seen as an attempt to get religion back in the classroom [HTML 2,129kb]
  The Ohio State Board of Education (OBOE) is considering a proposal that requires schools to teach critical thinking in all subject areas. Critics contend the proposal is an attempt to get religion back into the classroom through discussions about alternatives to Darwin’s theory of evolution.
  
• Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed bill prohibiting textbooks that disparage gay and lesbian individuals [HTML 1,758kb]
  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited California schools from using textbooks and teaching materials that disparage gay and lesbian individuals.
  
• Majority of Texas school Bible courses take a devotional and sectarian approach [HTML 2,246kb]
  According to a study by the Texas Freedom Network (TFN), the majority of public schools in Texas that offer Bible courses do not teach about the Bible in a historical or literary context as required under state law, but rather take a devotional and sectarian approach.
  
• Missouri Supreme Court judges provide civics lesson to high school students [HTML 1,658kb]
  High school students from across Missouri will have a chance to chat with two Missouri Supreme Court judges this month in recognition of Constitution Day.
  
• ACLU challenges the board's decision to ban certain controversial books [HTML 6,760kb]
  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit in federal district court against the Miami-Dade School Board (MDSB) challenging the board's decision to ban certain controversial books from school libraries.
  
• Parents files lawsuit over sexual orientation discussion in elementary school classroom [HTML 3,217kb]
  Parents in Lexington, Massachusetts have filed a lawsuit over their son’s being exposed to discussions about sexual orientation in his elementary school classroom.
  
• California bill would require textbooks to address contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons in U.S. history [HTML 2,595kb]
  A California Senate committee has approved a bill that would require textbooks to address the contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons to California and U.S. history.
  
• Two Hindu groups file suits over controversial changes the California State Board of Education made to sixth grade textbooks [HTML 4,597kb]
  Two Hindu groups have filed suits against the California State Board of Education (CBOE) over controversial changes the board made to sixth grade textbooks.
  
• Missouri legislature considers bill called the "Missouri Science Education Act" [HTML 3,395kb]
  The Missouri legislature is considering a bill called the "Missouri Science Education Act," which would require teachers to distinguish between "verified empirical data" and theories and to "minimize dogmatism while promoting student inquiry, healthy skepticism and understanding."
  
• Georgia legislature approved a bill that would allow high schools to offer courses on the Bible [HTML 5,543kb]
  The Georgia state legislature has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow public high schools to offer state-funded courses on the Bible, and the bill now awaits Governor Sonny Perdue’s signature.
  
• California State Board of Education rejected proposed changes on how Hinduism is covered in textbooks [HTML 2,267kb]
  The California State Board of Education has rejected several proposed changes to the way Hinduism is presented in the state's sixth grade textbooks, to the chagrin of many Hindu parents and advocacy groups.
  
• Georgia House Education Committee approved bill that would allow schools to offer courses on the Bible [HTML 2,234kb]
  The Georgia House Education Committee has approved a bill that would allow public high schools to offer courses on the Bible.
  
• Montgomery County Public Schools revisits policy that bans showing R-rated movies in class [HTML 2,462kb]
  Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland is revisiting a policy adopted last fall that effectively bans teachers from showing R-rated movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" in class.
  
• Utah House of Representatives votes to reject amended "origins of life" bill [HTML 1,707kb]
  After an "origins of life" bill was amended, the Utah House of Representatives has voted 46 to 28 to reject it.