La. alone with controversial science law

• By WILL SENTELL
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jul 3, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Louisiana is the only state in the nation that has enacted a law that could change the way evolution is taught in public schools, officials said.

Lawmakers in five other states debated similar bills this year but they failed to pass,  said Heather Chikoore, education policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.

“It has definitely been a topic in states,” Chikoore said.

The measure here won final Senate approval 36-0 and cleared the House 94-3. Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed the bill.

But arguments continue on whether Louisiana’s lone status in having such a law warrants pride or something else.

“This is the clearest standard that empowers teachers to approach controversial subject matters and encourages critical thinking,” said Gene Mills, executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum, a key backer of the new law.

Mills’ group touts itself as one that promotes traditional family values.

But Barbara Forrest of Hammond, a professor and co-founder of the Louisiana Coalition for Science, said the new rules add more infamy than distinction to the state.

Forrest said the influence of Mills’ group, especially in a conservative Legislature, paved the way for the bill to win lopsided approval.

“They pretty well have their way on this type of stuff,” Forrest said of the Louisiana Family Forum. “People who don’t agree with them are afraid to cross them.”

Similar bills were debated  and died in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama and Missouri, according to the NCSL. A Michigan proposal remains alive but has failed to gain traction.

At the center of the controversy is a measure called the Louisiana Science Education Act.

It will allow science teachers to use DVDs and other supplemental materials, in addition to state-issued textbooks, on issues such as evolution, global warming and cloning.