Education: Facts Of Life

California sides with Darwin

The famous Scopes trial ended 64 years ago, but educators are still grappling with the impassioned evolution vs. creation debate. Last week California's board of education adopted new teaching and textbook guidelines and, responding to Fundamentalist pressure, removed a reference to evolution as "scientific fact." But overall the document strongly supports teaching of evolution. California accounts for 11% of all U.S. textbook sales, and the guidelines could have wide impact.

Four years ago, California's education department declared that elementary and junior high school science texts needed fuller treatment of evolution. Subsequently, the education department detailed pro evolution guidelines for kindergarten through...

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