Michigan State Board of Education unanimously approves curriculum guidelines supporting evolution but not intelligent design
The Michigan State Board of Education has unanimously approved curriculum guidelines that support the teaching of evolution, but not intelligent design, in science classes. According to the guidelines, the concept of intelligent design may be taught in other classes, so long as it is not part of a school’s science curriculum. "The intent of the board needs to be very clear," says board member John Austin. "Evolution is not under stress. It is not untested science." Although some science groups and the American Civil Liberties Union were concerned that the board would fail to adopt state standards strong enough to prevent the discussion of intelligent design, the new guidelines detail what the state expects school districts to teach in science classes. According to Gregory Forbes, a community college biology instructor, it appears the "doors have been shut" in Michigan on supporters of teaching intelligent design as a viable scientific alternative to evolution. "To suggest intelligent design is a scientific theory is inappropriate because it is not testable. … It hasn't earned its way into the science classroom," he says.
Los Angeles Times
By Associated Press
[Link to full story]
[Editor’s Note: The state board’s decision is similar to that made by a local Michigan school board, that of Gull Lake Community Schools, which became involved in a dispute with two teachers who insisted they had the right to teach intelligent design in their science classes. The Gull Lake school board’s compromise policy allows intelligent design to be discussed in high school elective social studies courses, at the discretion of the teacher and provided the topic fits into the course curriculum. The policy expressly prohibits teaching intelligent design as part of the science curriculum. See below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Gull Lake dispute]