Catalyzing Action
We help individuals and communities resist threats to accurate and effective science education.
Find the latest news on evolution and climate change education in your state.
Texas
On July 10, 2009, Governor Rick Perry (R) named Gail Lowe to chair the Texas state board of education. Lowe replaces Don McLeroy, who failed to win confirmation from the Texas Senate on May 28, 2009. As the Dallas Morning News (July 11, 2009) noted, “Lowe is one of seven Republicans who make up…
Ohio
"John Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher facing dismissal for allegedly preaching in the classroom, is suing the Mount Vernon City School District, saying it violated his constitutional and civil rights," the Columbus Dispatch (June 11, 2009) reported. Freshwater was himself sued in…
Texas
Writing in The Earth Scientist, the journal of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, NCSE's Steven Newton explains (PDF, pp. 30-33) in detail what's wrong with the new state science standards adopted in Texas in March 2009, focusing on the Earth and Space Science standards in…
Texas
Two antievolution bills — House Bill 2800 and House Bill 4224 — died when the Texas legislature adjourned on June 1, 2009. HB 2800 would have exempted institutions such as the Institute for Creation Research's graduate school from Texas's regulations governing degree-granting institutions, thus…
Texas
The Texas Senate voted not to confirm Don McLeroy in his post as chair of the Texas state board of education on May 28, 2009. Although the vote to confirm him was 19-11, a two-thirds approval was required. The San Antonio Express-News (May 28, 2009) explained, "The Senate seldom rejects…