Science Curriculum

"A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question." ~Charles Darwin

About the issue:

For nearly 20 years, Texas has had a standard of keeping the public science classroom open for discussion and debate on theories, including evolution. Since Texas has such a large population, many textbook publishers write curriculum based on Texas' educational standards which are then sold to schools nationwide.

Some extreme liberal groups, knowing that a change in Texas' standards would have a huge national impact, demanded a change so that scientific theories are taught as absolute truth. They focused the national media on Texas and manufactured a "religion versus science" battle that they thought would help their cause. It backfired.

Thousands of phone calls and emails went to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) members. At one point, an SBOE member, who initially voted for censorship, said, "You have no idea the pressure we are under; we have got to find some common ground."

In the end, the SBOE adopted science standards, by a 13-2 vote, that requires students to "analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations... including examining all sides of scientific evidence so as to encourage critical thinking by the student."

What We're Doing:

Liberty Institute kicked its efforts into high gear when the battle intensified. We testified against the proposed classroom censorship at the three SBOE hearings beginning in November of 2008, with the final hearing in March 2009. We helped take the message directly to Texans through our work in the media and email alerts and encouraged them to keep the phone calls and emails going to their SBOE members. We prepared Texas scientists, professors, educators, parents, and students, including a Dean of Science from a Texas university, and a public school teacher with over 30 years of experience, for these hearings. One woman we helped testified about how her classmate was kicked out of a Rice University classroom for simply questioning evolution! This huge win for over four million students validates that Texans and the SBOE reject censorship in the classroom.