Wyoming's House Bill 23 (PDF) was passed by the House of Representatives on a 39-21 vote on January 26, 2015, according to the Casper Star-Tribune (January 27, 2015), and now proceeds to the Senate. The bill would allow the state to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards by repealing a footnote in the state budget for 2014-2016 that precluded the use of state funds for "any review or adoption" of the NGSS.
The treatment of climate change was cited as the reason for the footnote in the budget, as NCSE previously reported. The Wyoming state board of education subsequently declined to develop a new set of science standards independent of the NGSS. Despite the legislature's decision, local school districts are free to adopt the NGSS, and about fifteen (of forty-eight) have reportedly done so.
The National Journal (January 26, 2015) reported that critics of the bill complained that teaching climate science disparages fossil fuel production, a staple of Wyoming's economy. But John Patton (R-District 29), the sponsor of the bill, replied, "It's not against the economy," adding, "Working for knowledge ... that is progressive, that is what we are in the state of Wyoming. This state is very, very proud of its educational system. It's not broken."