December 20, 2002

AAAS: "Intelligent Design" Not Smart for Science Classes

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific organization, recently announced the top ten key science and technology policy issues to emerge in 2002. Among them:

5) INTELLIGENT DESIGN--NOT SMART FOR SCIENCE CLASSES:
Efforts to kick the theory of biological evolution out of U.S. public school classrooms are taking a new twist. Instead of opposing evolution directly, evolution foes now are seeking to include intelligent design theory in science classrooms. Such efforts were seen in local and state school boards, including Cobb County, Georgia, and the State of Ohio during 2002. ID theory suggests that the complexity of DNA, for example, and the diversity of life forms can only be explained by a supernatural agent. Science educators will be keeping their eyes open to see where this issue pops up next in 2003. Meanwhile, the AAAS Board of Directors passed a resolution in October saying ID theory should be treated in the same manner as creationism or other family teachings--but not in science classrooms.