I'd suggested earlier in the year that the next major scuffle over teaching evolution was likely to take place in Texas, since its governor had appointed a supporter of the Intelligent Design movement to head the state school board. I was, however, unprepared for the events that would transpire in Florida, where the existing science standards had been given a failing grade in a nationwide evaluation of science education standards. Happily, the state appears determined to fix the standards; unfortunately, the local school boards that will have to implement the new ones don't like them. The reason: they accurately portray evolution as a cornerstone of modern biology.
Florida's previous standards date from 1999 and received a failing grade in part because they pretended that evolution didn't exist. A draft of new standards was developed last year; the resources used to develop them include a collection of expert material from the National Academies of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with highly regarded standards from other states and nations. Using this excellent source material, draft standards (PDF) were formulated, and public comment was solicited.
That's when the trouble apparently started. The new standards correctly declared that, "Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." This statement apparently did not sit well with many local school boards. A number of them have already passed resolutions opposing the new standards; the Florida Citizens for Science are also tracking a number of similar resolutions throughout the state.
The resolutions are all variations on a single body of text, but what's striking to me is how badly that text mangles science. I'll discuss two examples (PDFs). The first requests that the standards be revised "so that evolution is not presented as fact." It indicates that this is because of "the need to present these standards through a fair and balanced approach."
We recently noted an excellent description of how evolution is both a fact and a theory. By emphasizing its role as a "fundamental concept," the standards are actually emphasizing its place as theory. Even if the resolution had gotten this part right, it erred badly by suggesting the need for a fair and balanced treatment of science. Science is successful because it is a supremely unfair process; it is a method for identifying concepts that can be dismissed with prejudice. By suggesting fairness should play a role, the resolution fundamentally misunderstands science.
If anything, the second resolution is worse. It clearly doesn't even know what evolution is, since it demands the standards be amended so that "evolution is presented as one of several theories as to how the universe was formed." Working with that error, it goes on to suggest "an approach that does not unfairly exclude other theories as to the creation of the universe." Forgetting the fact that evolution is actually about biology, it would be helpful if the resolution identified such theories, because scientists are completely unaware of them. Note to school board: if a concept is successful enough to earn the designation "theory," it's usually because it explains things far better than any other competing concept. It's unusual to have more than one theory for a given set of phenomena.
I'd argue that the primary duty of a school board is to provide informed direction to their community's schools; there is nothing informed about these resolutions. By having their own moments of breathtaking inanity, these school boards are behaving with gross negligence. I hope their communities recognize this and act upon it. The best way to avoid similar situations in the future is to send the same message that the voters in Dover did: putting personal ignorance ahead of proper education will lose elections.