Christina Comer a former state science curriculum director who lost her job at the Texas Education Agency has sued the TEA and Education Commissioner Robert Scott,alleging she was illegally fired for forwarding an e-mail about a lecture critical of the movement to promote intelligent design in science classes.
Comer said she lost her job for contravening an “unconstitutional” policy at the agency, which required employees to be neutral on the subject of creationism.The policy was in force, according to the suit, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that teaching creationism as science in public schools is illegal. The agency’s ‘neutrality’ policy has the purpose or effect of endorsing religion, and thus violates the Establishment Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit said. Comer stated she was fired without due process after serving as the state science director for nearly 10 years.
It would seem rather ironic that those who profess to support “Academic Freedom” require that freedom only when it profits their own ideologies.
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A related item, found at http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2008/07/chris-comer-sue.html#comment-161107:
“My name is Charlie Carraway and I’m a member of Sopchoppy Southern Baptist Church, Sopchoppy , Florida , but I also work for the Florida Department of Education as the Director of the Office of Instructional Materials. That means I oversee the adoption process in the state, and I work in close proximity to the folks in the Office of Mathematics and Science, who have been in charge of the revision of the science standards. I say all of this, obviously, to give this e-mail credibility, so that you’ll continue to read and pass on the information I’m sharing with you.
A lot of people don’t understand “why all the fuss about the new science standards,†so I thought I would try to give more background information. The science standards that are in place now do not include the word Evolution anywhere. In fact, they are ambiguous enough that the districts and schools in Florida have been able to teach evolution as a theory along With other theories. In addition to that, if these new standards are adopted, the new instructional materials adopted and placed in our schools will be aligned to these standards, which means that our new materials will explicitly teach evolution – and not as a theory!!!
edit for space …
Once these become adopted standards and benchmarks, FCAT assessment will be based on them. That means students will be held accountable to learn these benchmarks. Districts will not have a choice in teaching evolution as a theory, but will be expected to teach it as stated in these standards, big ideas, and benchmarks. Why? Why is this change necessary? Whose agenda is this and will the Christians in Florida care enough to do something about it?”
Dear Charlie: The state policy has been decided at a level above your pay grade. Just do your job and keep your personal concerns out of it. If you can’t do that in good conscience, then quit.
The e mail from Charlie Carraway was circulated before the science standards were voted on. Around last September if I am remembering correctly. (I don’t feel like skimming my hard drive at the moment).
The point of that post was to show the dramatic difference in level of punishment between Chris Comer and Charlie Carraway.
IMO – Charlie Carraway was much more aggressive in trying to push her agenda, yet she barely got a slap on the wrist for sending that piece of crap.
Before anyone objects that she sent it from a personal e mail account – as soon as she made this statement …
“ I also work for the Florida Department of Education as the Director of the Office of Instructional Materials.”
Chris Comer stated “matter-of-factly” that someone was coming to speak against ID and was fired.
My question is …
How could she have been fired for breaking the “neutrality” clause (or whatever it is) if ID has nothing to do with religion?
She clearly created a nexxus between herself and the DOE.
She clearly created a nexxus between herself and the DOE.
sorry, but that was supposed to go here after this statementBefore anyone objects that she sent it from a personal e mail account – as soon as she made this statement …
I don’t know what happened!!
Thanks for the clarification, especially regarding the date of Carraway’s rant.
FTR: a search on this blog for her name turned up blank, so it seemed worthwhile to pass along her, ah, thoughts for FlaScience readers.
It was posted here on this blog:
https://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=339
Brandon – quite so, and thanks for the link. I should’ve known you wouldn’t let such a story go unblogged.
But using the “Search” function found on the home page here produces only this:
(“… some authority …“?)