Protection of Texas Education

To:  Texas State Board of Education

In an upcoming meeting, Texas State Board of Education will vote on a revision to the “19 TAC Chapter 112, Subchapter C” Biology standards, regarding the teaching of biology at the high-school level. New students expectations include the ability to “analyze and evaluate the sufficiency or insufficiency of common ancestry to explain the sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record” (§112.34 7b).

The amendment singles out evolutionary theory as a potentially insufficient explanation for the diversity of life on earth. This view is not supported by vast majority of the scientific community, nor have alternative scientific explanations been offered that have not been falsified. In reality, evolutionary theory is one of the strongest theoretical frameworks in the history of science. Adoption of this amendment will weaken biology standards and encourage the presentation of pseudoscience in Texas high-school classrooms. Therefore, we the undersigned citizens of the state of Texas oppose adoption of this amendment.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Protection of Texas Education Petition to Texas State Board of Education was created by Sam Houston Atheist Alliance, A student group at Sam Houston State University and written by Brian Louden (bcl001@shsu.edu).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.