Senate Bill 554, a hybrid of the "academic freedom" antievolution strategy and the flawed Texas state science standards, appears to have died in committee on February 28, 2011, when a deadline for senate bills to be reported from committee passed. SB 554 was introduced by Josh Brecheen (R-District 6), who described it in the Durant Daily Democrat (December 24, 2010) as "requiring every publically funded Oklahoma school to teach the debate of creation vs. evolution." The antievolution bill in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, House Bill 1551, was previously rejected by the House Common Education Committee on February 22, 2011. Leading the opposition to both antievolution bills was the grassroots organization Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.
March 4, 2011