At its August 10, 2017, meeting, the Idaho state board of education gave preliminary approval to a new set of state science standards, reports Idaho Education News (August 10, 2017).
Earlier versions of standards discussing climate change and human impact on the environment were, as NCSE previously reported, deleted from the state science standards by the state legislature, where legislators — particularly in the House Education Committee — complained that they failed to present "both sides of the debate."
The revised versions of the standards continue to acknowledge human responsibility for recent climate change, but appear to soften or qualify the acknowledgment somewhat. The drafting committee was evidently "trying to navigate [between] a rock and a hard place," as NCSE's Glenn Branch told the Spokane, Washington, Inlander (June 8, 2017).
The proposed standards are now expected to return to the legislature, to undergo its review in 2018.
[Updated on August 15, 2017, by correcting the final paragraph, which incorrectly referred to a further period for public comment.]