Kansas board to vote on science standards

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas’ long-running war over the teaching of evolution is headed for another showdown this week between science and the advocates of intelligent design.

The state Board of Education plans to vote Tuesday on academic standards that will direct the development of student tests used to measure how well Kansas’ public schools teach the sciences.

Six of the 10 board members have previously endorsed language sought by advocates of intelligent design, a theory that says the universe is so complex it must have been created by a higher force.

Opponents of teaching intelligent design as science argue that it’s largely creationism – a literal reading of the Bible’s story of creation – camouflaged in scientific language.

The state’s new academic standards won’t dictate what classroom teachers actually teach, that will be left to the local school boards. But some educators worry the state standards will encourage evolution opponents to pressure their local boards.

“At some point, teachers in some districts are going to say it’s not worth the hassle,” said Ken Bingman, who teaches biology at Blue Valley West High School in the Kansas City area.

Kansas’ debate over evolution has drawn international attention – and ridicule – since it began in 1999.

That year, the board struck most references to evolution from the standards. Two years later, a less conservative board rewrote the standards to treat evolution as well-established science that is crucial for students to understand.

“It’s the one area that never gets settled,” said Mike Ford, who teaches astronomy and physical sciences at Holton High School, about 30 miles north of Topeka. “It’s like a game of pingpong.”