Arches National Park, Utah. Photo by Jakob Køhn on Unsplash.
"Climate change was restored to Utah's supplemental state standards for science and engineering education by one vote late Thursday night," the Deseret News (May 5, 2023) reported.
Previously, while considering a draft of standards for courses such as human anatomy, genetics, geology, meteorology, and marine biology/oceanography, the Standards and Assessment Committee of the board voted 3-2 to remove a standard that "called for students to be taught how to evaluate proposed designed solutions intended to reduce the impacts of climate change" from the meteorology standards. Also under consideration but not adopted was a proposal to "include alternative theories about how rocks formed, such as the impact of the Great Flood described by the Book of Genesis."
Subsequently, after hearing from more than 100 Utahns calling for the restoration of the standard, the board voted 8-7 to adopt the standards as originally drafted by a committee of educators, scientists, and parents.
