On March 4, the proposed Minnesota science standards were approved by the House Education Policy Committee when it voted 18-12 to pass House file 2558. Most of the debate over HF 2558 centered on the contentious social science standards; according to the Saint Paul Pioneer-Press, the science standards "generated little discussion during the two-hour debate. The bill still has several committee stops before it reaches the House floor. The Senate Education Committee has not yet taken any votes on the science or social studies standards."
As approved by the committee, the science standards apparently do not incorporate the minority report (submitted by a number of members of the science standards writing committee), which called for a variety of changes to present evolution's "weaknesses as well as its strengths." Inclusion of the minority report's recommendations was strongly urged by a variety of antievolutionist organizations.
March 5, 2004