As you may know, the debate over the public school science curriculum standards (TEKS) is now reaching its most critical point—the final vote. On March 25th–27th, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will decide whether to approve a curriculum that would undermine our children’s science education.

In January of this year, the SBOE, in a preliminary vote, rejected the current requirement that students learn the “strength and weaknesses” of scientific theories. For those who care deeply about both science and education, that sounds like a victory.

However, several new amendments were slipped in at the last minute with no expert review and no public testimony. These amendments contain the phrases “sufficiency or insufficiency” and ”arguments for and against”—remarkably similar to the removed “strength and weaknesses” language, all implying that the theory of evolution is just as likely to be false as true. The amendments were accepted by a single-vote margin, with two board members abstaining. For specific information on the amendments, click here.

Fortunately, there is one last chance for citizens of Texas to ensure that science taught in our schools is 21st Century science. We must urge the SBOE to:

• Accept the proposed standards, dated January 5, 2009, drafted by the panel of teachers and scientists appointed by the SBOE.
• Reject the amendments to these standards that were accepted without expert consultation or public testimony in January.

What You Can Do

We ask that you send an email or letter to the SBOE member of your SBOE district, or the member(s) whom you would most like to influence.

Because “form” emails and letters are often tossed, please make your message as individual and personal as you can. Please mention if you are a teacher or a parent of a student in the school system: yours are the most powerful voices. If you are a person of faith, it is good to mention this, as it is important to acknowledge that God and evolution get along just fine.

Please take a few minutes to compose an introductory paragraph about the upcoming vote, using any information in this letter or at http://www.teachthemscience.org. Then select the items from the suggested Talking Points that you think are the most compelling.

We suggest that you copy your State Representative or Senator on each email or letter as that may help elicit a positive response. Find contact information for your legislators and SBOE representatives here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/. In all correspondence, if you are a constituent of the SBOE member, identify yourself as such by including your home address.

You or your colleagues may even want to testify on March 25th, just before the final vote. For information on arranging to speak, see http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/sboe/op_rules.html#publictestimony and http://ncseweb.org/taking-action/how-to-testify-at-school-board-meeting.

We hope that you are fired up by this issue and will recruit other teachers, parents, students, and concerned citizens to send emails, write letters to the editor, and spread the word.

Let’s do all we can before it’s too late. The future of science education in Texas and beyond hangs in the balance.

Sincerely,

Center for Inquiry Austin and The Clergy Letter Project

www.teachthemscience.org