Kansas Board of Education rescinds curriculum standards that cast doubt on evolution

Capping two years of bitter controversy and occasional ridicule, the Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday rescinded science curriculum standards that cast doubt on evolution. In their place are new guidelines reflecting the scientific consensus that evolution is a foundation of modern biology and a critical component to a science education. It’s the fourth time the board has changed the standards in eight years. However, the vote isn’t likely to end the enduring fight over what to teach public school students about the origins of life. "This issue is never going to go away," says John Calvert, director of the Intelligent Design Network. "You can’t keep science in a box." The standards are the basis for state assessment tests. Local districts are not required to teach the standards but often use them as templates for course curriculum. The repeal of the standards hands another defeat to proponents of creationism and intelligent design, the belief that nature shows scientific evidence of a creator. Two years ago, a U.S. District judge ruled that intelligent design cannot be taught in public schools. In Georgia, another judge ruled that a local school district couldn’t put stickers critical of evolution on biology books.