In 2011, six states considered similar laws, but all were defeated, according to the Fordham Foundation. Besides Indiana, Fordham notes that New Hampshire also is advancing a creation bill in 2012.
Riggs said the school teaches them as &8220;two theories of the origins of life&8221; and said that in literature classes students often learn about the Bible and the Quran. &8220;The idea is to get kids to think.&8221;
&8220;If this law passes, for the classrooms of Indiana, it would be a serious undermining of the teaching of evolution,&8221; said Kathleen Porter-Magee, senior director of the High Quality Standards Project at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, had a decidedly different take: &8220;I can&8217;t believe we are even considering this.&8221;
Creation science was specifically ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1987 case in which the court voided a Louisiana law that required creation science to be taught alongside evolution in science class. The court found the law violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution because it was designed to advance religion.
teaching schools Creation science bill clears the Indiana Senate,Senate Bill 89, authored by Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, would allow schools to teach religion-based views on the origin of creation &8212; be they Muslim, Jewish, Scientology or Christian &8212; alongside the theory of evolution in public school science classes.
&8220;We believe this is a local issue,&8221; he said, &8220;best left to school communities to decide.&8221;
Kruse called evolution a &8220;Johnny come lately&8221; idea that emerged well after many religious views about the origins of life were formed.
In 2008, Louisiana passed a law that protects the &8220;academic freedom&8221; of teachers and students to discuss the merits of scientific theories.
In its report, Fordham said the challenges to evolution are among the biggest problems cing science standards today.
Kruse thinks his bill is ir to everyone because it was amended to allow the creation theories of several religions, not just Christianity. But the inclusion of other religions was the reason Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, said he voted against the measure.
Over the past decade, the evolution debate has re-emerged as proponents of &8220;intelligent design&8221; sought to persuade school districts and state legislatures to include it in science discussions.
But Indiana Department of Education spokesman Alex Damron said a state curriculum would not be needed.
By Scott Elliott
Judge John E. Jones III issued a 139-page decision that traced the history of the intelligent design theory to its roots in the already outlawed idea of creation science, concluding it was entirely a theological argument and &8220;not science.&8221;
&8220;As r as I know,&8221; said Mount Vernon Community School Corporation Superintendent William Riggs, &8220;we&8217;ve always been allowed to do that.&8221;
Skinner said teachers shouldn&8217;t be forced to figure it out on their own.
Edward Frazier, executive director of the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, said he thinks some people get hung up on the term &8220;theory&8221; when discussing evolution. The scientific definition, he explained, is different from the lay definition.
But districts such as Mount Vernon potentially open themselves up to costly lawsuits. Kruse&8217;s bill gives those districts and any other that choose to teach creationism some legal cover &8212; and likely would draw the state into their dteaching schools Creation science bill clears the Indiana Senateefense.
&8220;Many people still believe in creation,&8221; he said. &8220;Our schools are teaching what many people believe is lse.&8221;
That might change.
The question now &8212; if it becomes law &8212; is whether schools will consider it. And if they do, will that violate the Constitution?
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Riggs said Mount Vernon High School&8217;s biology class already teaches creationism alongside evolution. &8220;We&8217;ve been doing this for years.&8221;
In the wake of the Dover decision, most battles over the issue lately have focused on more subtle efforts to insert creation into evolution discussions, such as laws requiring students be taught specific &8220;weaknesses&8221; in the theory.
Technically, a school district could teach creationism now &8212; and some do.
Scott Elliott joined the Star as education reform reporter in January of 2011. He formerly covered education for more than a decade at the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News where he wrote extensively about school choice, standardized testing and urban school reform. He is vice president of the national Education Writers Association.
&8220;I understand that religious belief and ith is important,&8221; he said. &8220;We don&8217;t dispute that in any shion. Our position is that in the science classroom we should be teaching science.&8221;
&8220;I believe in creation,&8221; Kruse said, &8220;and I believe it deserves to be taught in our public schools.&8221;
Francis Eberle, the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, agrees.
&8220;With a scientific theory, you start with a hypothesis and then collect evidence,&8221; he said. &8220;(With evolution) there is a tremendous amount of cts to support it.&8221;
The Senate passed the bill 28-22. It would still need to be passed by the House and signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels before it became law.
&8220;This is a different Supreme Court,&8221; he said. &8220;This Supreme Court could rule differently.&8221;
Nine other Republicans voted against the bill, and one Democrat, Lindel Hume of Princeton, voted for it.
Kruse said he is aware of the precedent but isn&8217;t sure it would survive today.
Intelligent design received its legal test in 2005 when a federal judge took up the case of a requirement in Dover, Pa., that schoolchildren be read a statement in biology class that called evolution a &8220;flawed&8221; theory and suggested intelligent design as another option.
&8220;If we get sued,&8221; he asked, &8220;who is going to pay for the lawsuit?&8221;
Adding creation science to state standards, Porter Magee said, would be a step in the wrong direction.
According to the Fordham Foundation, a conservative-leaning institute in Washington, D.C.: &8220;In pteaching schoolsractice, the (Louisiana) measure pushes a pro-creationist agenda &8212; and gives cover to those looking to teach intelligent design creationism.&8221;
Skinner argues that SB 89 has a specific weakness: It does not call for the creation of state standards for teachers to follow.
Intelligent design holds that the complexity of the laws of the universe and ctors that led to the emergence of life suggest they could not have happened by accident but must be the work of a &8220;designer.&8221; Many proponents believe the designer is God, but they argue that there are other possibilities and that intelligent design is not specifically a religious theory.
The Indiana Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow creationism to be taught in the classroom &8212; an idea that, if it becomes law, could likely end up in a courtroom.
Schools, however, would not be required to do so, and an Indiana Department of Education spokesman said the state would not develop any such curriculum or guidelines for teaching creationism.
Coincidentally, Tuesday&8217;s vote came on the same day that the Fordham Foundation released a report that named Indiana as one of just seven states that earned an &8220;A&8221; for its science standards.
The think tank, based in Washington, D.C., advocates for high academic standards and school choice.
The answer to Skinner&8217;s question might help explain why Kruse felt the need to put creationism into state law.
Sen. Tim Skinner, D-Terre Haute, asked whether Indiana is ready for the lengthy legal battle that could follow.
Frazier, a retired biology and science teacher who taught at Speedway High School for 40 years, said creationism is based on belief, not scientific evidence.
