The Institute for Creation Research has filed a petition with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board accusing the agency of "viewpoint discrimination." Last month, the board denied the institute state certification, which the institute needs to offer its online master's degree in science education. Both sides seem to agree on why the petition was denied: The degree, like the ICR's entire program, would be based on "creation science" rather than evolution. Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes recommended rejecting the ICR's proposal because the institute's program wouldn't prepare graduates to meet the science standards now set for Texas public schools, which include the study of evolution, and because science and religious belief "are not the same thing."
The petition paves the way for the ICR to bring legal action against the agency and its board members in federal and state court. —Heather Wax