After hours of testimony, the state House Education Committee approved an "academic freedom" bill that would allow science teachers to use supplemental material "that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning.” The committee's chairman, Republican Representative Don Trahan, did add an amendment that would allow the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to review the supplemental material and block anything that wasn't scientific—but many critics worry about what will still find its way into the schools. Democratic Senator Ben Nevers, who sponsored the Senate version of the proposal, denies the bill has a "hidden agenda"—maintaining it is about "science education, period"—yet opponents believe the bill is really an attempt to sneak religious theories like creationism and "intelligent design" into the science classroom.
The bill will now go before the full House for a vote. —Heather Wax