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SALT LAKE CITY — The Tennessee governor is expected to sign into law this week a bill that would protect teachers who criticize or allow students to criticize scientific theories such as evolution and global warming.
In a battle reminiscent of the Scopes "monkey trial" fought nearly 90 years ago, the question of whether evolution or creationism should be taught in the classroom is being asked once again in a courtroom in Tennessee, and critics of the bill are fighting it for attacking the scientific theory.
Tennessee HB368 and SB893 encourage teachers to teach "scientific strengths and weaknesses" of "controversial" subjects including evolution, the origin of life, global warming and human cloning.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said the law would not affect Tennessee's current state science curriculum for primary or secondary students, according to information provided by the Tennessee State Board of Education.
The Tennessee Education Association has criticized the bill for drawing attention from what it views as more pressing matters, though, saying the move is a step backward for the state.
They're avoiding the real problems in education by dealing with some of these emotional hot- button issues.
–Jerry Winters
"They're avoiding the real problems in education by dealing with some of these emotional hot-button issues," TEA lobbyist Jerry Winters told the Associated Press.
The creationism vs. evolution debate has long been a sensitive topic in public schools, but the new Tennessee bill represents the first legal battle on the topic since the landmark 1925 Scopes trial — often referred to as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" — ignited a storm of controversy about the place of evolution in schools.
John Scopes had been accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in schools. Scopes was found guilty, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality; in the public consciousness, the question of evolution vs. creationism was never fully put to rest.
Some in Tennessee feel, though, that the issue was resolved long ago; they say principles such as evolution and global warming are scientific fact and cannot be discredited in public schools.
Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, said in a guest blog post that the law "would gut science education in public schools."
"Under the pretext of fostering critical thinking, this legislation states that teachers must be allowed to discuss 'weaknesses' in scientific theories such as evolution and other scientific subjects that 'cause debate and disputation' — calling their validity into question," she wrote.
Weinberg said the issue is a political one, and does not belong in the classroom.
What the bill says is that as long as you stick to objective scientific facts, then you can bring that into play.
–Bill Dunn
Organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the Tennessee Science Teachers Association have all agreed that there is no scientific controversy behind such theories — within the scientific community, they are widely agreed upon.
In a column published in The Tennessean, three members of the National Academy of Sciences wrote that the law is "misleading and unnecessary."
"The Tennessee legislature is doing the unbelievable: attempting to roll the clock back to 1925 by attempting to insert religious beliefs in the teaching of science," they wrote.
The scientists, all three of whom hold doctorate degrees, are Roger D. Cone, Robert G. Webster, and Jon Kaas.
The House bill's sponsor, Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, said the bill was never meant to be a political or religious issue.
"What the bill says is that as long as you stick to objective scientific facts, then you can bring that into play," he said.
