The Intelligent Design Debate
To the vast majority of the world’s scientists, there is no debating it: Evolution is a thoroughly established theory and a foundation for all scientific knowledge. Yet for decades, many Americans—on local and state school boards, in legislatures, and among the general public—have opposed its teaching or, more recently, suggested that scientifically legitimate alternatives to it exist and should be included in the classroom. Education Week delivers in-depth reporting on the debate.
Federal
'Academic Freedom' Used as Basis Of Bills to Question Evolution
State legislators are arguing that teachers have a right to raise doubts about that essential scientific theory as a matter of free speech.
Science
Fla. Evolution Foes Try a Fresh Tactic
Critics of evolution’s now officially enshrined place in Florida science classes are regrouping with a new line of argument.
Science
Possible Road Map Seen in Dover Case
In issuing a blistering, unequivocal decision declaring “intelligent design” to be illegitimate science, a federal judge in Pennsylvania may have provided an authoritative guide for school officials and science teachers seeking to defend the teaching of evolution, legal observers say.
Science
Dover’s New School Board Prepares to Scrap District’s Disputed Policy
The newly reconstituted Dover, Pa., school board appears ready to enforce a federal judge's ruling that forbids school officials in Dover to require that students be introduced to the concept of “intelligent design” in science class.
Science
U.S. Judge Rules Intelligent Design Has No Place in Science Classrooms
In a decision that could have broad implications for public schools across the country, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that “intelligent design” is not legitimate science, but rather an unconstitutional religious concept with direct ties to biblically based creationism.
Law & Courts
Treatment of Evolution Inconsistent
State standards for academic content vary enormously in how well they cover the topic of evolution, with many of those documents either ignoring or giving scant treatment to the core principles of that established scientific theory, an Education Week analysis shows.
Science
Defense Makes Its Case in Intelligent-Design Trial
After weeks of hearing “intelligent design” described as a combination of amateur science and religious belief, lawyers for the Dover school district are attempting to strike back, with the help of an academic scholar friendly to their cause.
Science
‘Intelligent Design’ Goes on Trial in Pa.
The question of whether “intelligent design” amounts to legitimate science, pseudo-science, or religion masquerading as science is undergoing a potentially historic legal test, as a federal court here considers whether a public school district can require that students be exposed to the controversial concept.
Science
Outside Courtroom, Intelligent-Design Beliefs At Odds with Scientists
Kenneth R. Miller is one of the country’s best-known biologists. He has written textbooks, authored many scientific articles and essays, and teaches at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities. And in his testimony during a closely scrutinized federal trial in Harrisburg, Pa., this week, he was unequivocal: “Intelligent design” is not science, and should not be presented as such in science classes.
Science
Testimony Tackles Question: What Is Intelligent Design?
Testimony on the third day of a closely watched trial on “intelligent design” spanned the history, philosophy, and definition of science, with an academic scholar offering his opinions on what intelligent design is—and what it is not.
Science
Plaintiffs Recall Atmosphere Leading Up to Intelligent-Design Policy
The concept of “intelligent design” materialized in the Dover school district only after board members spoke openly about the need to insert Christian religious beliefs into science classes, plaintiffs testified here in a landmark lawsuit.
Science
Dover, Pa., Board Race Takes Intelligent Design to Voters
As the nationwide debate over attempts to bring intelligent design into public school classes has grown increasingly polarized, Bernadette Reinking and Dover CARES seem intent on conveying a centrist message to voters. Her group supports allowing discussion of intelligent design—in social studies, comparative religion, or similar classes, not as a biology lesson.
