Thursday, January 07, 2010

Americans United Goes on the Offensive Against Louisiana

Barry Lynn's group, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, has issued a sharp warning to the Louisiana Education Board. The article notes:

Due to lobbying by the Religious Right, Louisiana legislators approved a law in 2008 that allows for “supplemental materials” to be used in public school science classes. The Board has developed a policy for reviewing these materials that is seriously flawed, says Americans United.

“It’s obvious what’s going on here,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Louisiana elected officials are once again trying to undercut the teaching of evolution and slip creationism into science classes. This effort must fail.”

In a letter sent to the Board, Americans United warns that the proposed review policy is constitutionally suspect because it appears to open the door for creationist concepts to be taught in public schools.

The Board calls for allowing challenged materials to be reviewed by a panel that could easily be stacked with people sympathetic to creationism. It would bypass the expert opinion of the Louisiana Department of Education.

As much as I have no particular like for AU, I think they are correct about this. As was found out in Dover, members of the local school board wanted creationism taught in the public schools and didn't care how that happened, even if it meant deceit. The idea is simple: make it so hard to protest something that people will give up in resignation.

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