South Carolina’s bill that would have allowed teachers to “help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific theories” is dead.
Also dead is South Carolina’s religion “neutrality” bill, which would have required the State Board of Education to “examine all curriculum in use in this State that purports to teach students about the origins of mankind to determine whether the curriculum maintains neutrality toward religion, favoring neither one religion over other religions, nor religion over non-religion, including atheism. Related to non-religion, the examination must include a review as to whether the curriculum contains a sense of affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus preferring those who believe in no religion over those who hold religious beliefs.” Any “offending” curriculum would have been revised or replaced.

A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll asked Texas voters how they feel about the curriculum and textbook changes recently approved by the State Board of Education.
Of those surveyed, 65 percent said they “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of having an elective Bible course in public high schools, while 18 disapprove. When it comes to science, 52 percent approve of standards that “present evidence that is both supportive and critical of evolution,” while 28 percent don’t approve. And 60 percent approve of history standards that discuss “the Christian religious beliefs of America’s Founding Fathers,” with 23 percent disapproving. Overall, two-thirds of those surveyed said “too much religion in the schools” is not a problem, while 50 percent said “hostility toward religion in the schools” is a “major” problem.

A new poll shows that voters in Texas want education experts—not the state school board—to make decisions about public school curriculum standards and the content of textbooks. Only 19 percent think elected school board members should decide the curriculum, while 72 percent want the curriculum standards to be set by teachers and scholars. When it comes to parents, 78 percent want teachers and scholars to set the standards, with 69 percent feeling strongly about the issue. (Click on image for larger view.)

The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund.

Missouri’s bill that would have allowed students to be taught the “scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses” of evolution, and which looked exactly like the “academic freedom” bill that died in the state last year, is also dead.