Evolution V. Intelligent Design Case Unfolds in Kansas Court
The battle over evolution in schools is being played out in Kansas, where the State Board of Education is in the midst of hearings to decide new statewide science standards.
The battle over evolution in schools is being played out in Kansas, where the State Board of Education is in the midst of hearings to decide new statewide science standards.
Testimony was heard on Friday, marking the second day of the four-day hearings that began on Thursday. A three-member subcommittee was appointed by the State Board to listen to and decide on the new standards.
At the center of the hearings is a debate on how evolution should be taught in the state’s public schools. Conservatives advocate new science teaching standards that would allow criticism of evolution and the presentation of alternate theories to evolution.
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Those who support these changes argue that presenting alternatives will give students a broader and more balanced understanding. One of the leading alternative theories is the idea of intelligent design- that the complexity and organization of life are evidence of an intelligent creator.
Most of the witnesses believe in intelligent design and all are against the teaching of evolution in schools. This is because scientists and those who support evolution have boycotted the hearings, saying that they are rigged in opposition to evolution.
Many scientists argue that the push for new science standards will open the way for ideas like intelligent design to be taught in schools. They claim that intelligent design has no scientific basis and is just another form of creationism, which is prohibited from schools.
Rather than testifying at the hearings, scientists and supporters of evolution are holding daily news conferences at the Statehouse. On Thursday, they brought in a wheelbarrow and two crates of scientific journals detailing evidence for evolution.
Several states within the U.S. are dealing with similar debates on how to teach evolution in schools. In Kansas, the debate has been raging for years- in 1999, the Conservative-led state board removed most references to evolution from the curriculum. In 2001, the less conservative board reinstated evolution as a key element of science education. The current board is again led by a Conservative majority.
Hearings will continue on Saturday and conclude next Thursday. The State Board plans to make decisions on the new science standards in June.
