Louisiana Senate Passes Landmark Science Education Act on Evolution and Other Science Controversies

By a unanimous vote of 36-0, Louisiana’s state Senate has just approved the Louisiana Science Education Act, which seeks to protect the right of teachers and local school districts to encourage “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.” Because the bill passed the Louisiana House last week by a vote of 94-3, the bill now goes to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for his signature. Be prepared for an onslaught of misinformation about the act, most notably the false claim that the act permits the use of “religious” materials in science classes. Read the bill for yourself here, especially Section 1D, which emphatically states that the law “shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.” For a clear analysis of what the law will do, read here.