{"id":2620,"date":"2017-03-20T17:40:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T21:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=2620"},"modified":"2017-03-20T17:40:27","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T21:40:27","slug":"religious-liberties-bill-on-senate-floor-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2620","title":{"rendered":"Religious Liberties bill on Senate floor Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s a few quick updates on the\u00c2\u00a0Religious Expression in Public Schools bills that we’re opposed to.<\/p>\n

\"senate\"<\/a>First, the Senate version<\/a> has been approved by all of its assigned committees and is now scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor tomorrow (Tuesday). If I understand the procedure, this is an opportunity for senators to ask the bill sponsor (Sen. Dennis Baxley) questions and engage in debate. But I don’t think there will be any voting. That should come during the bill’s “3rd reading” at a later date. However, I could be wrong; I’m certainly not an expert in these matters. Regardless, the time for citizens to make public comments on this bill during senate proceedings is over. You best option now is to get on the phone now and to email now. Tell your senator and any other senators who you think will listen why we are concerned about this bill. See the Religious Liberties Act 2017 category here<\/a> for ideas.<\/p>\n

The House version<\/a> sailed through one committee and is now waiting to be put on the meeting schedule for the full Education Committee<\/a>. Now would be a good time to call and email representatives on that committee and see if another embarrassing tent-revival-style meeting and unanimous vote can be avoided. (That atmosphere at the last meeting should make anyone who actually cares about religious liberties for all students<\/strong> cringe; but I digress.)<\/p>\n

The Orlando Sentinel posted a story online today about the bills and mentioned Florida Citizens for Science’s concerns:\u00c2\u00a0Lawmakers’ push for ‘religious liberties’ in schools sparks debate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brandon Haught, a biology teacher in Volusia County and a member of Florida Citizens for Science, told lawmakers the bill would hurt science education.<\/p>\n

Some teachers might feel free to discuss evolution from a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153religious perspective,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and some students might feel they could claim \u00e2\u20ac\u0153religious discrimination\u00e2\u20ac\u009d if a teacher tried to explain \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the science,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Haught said.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This bill would cast a chilling effect on science teachers across the state who would prefer to shortchange evolution instruction rather than deal with potential conflicts with students, parents and then community,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And before I wrap up, it’s worth noting that the House sponsor of the bill has been the subject of some controversy:\u00c2\u00a0Jax State Rep Kim Daniels Accused of Campaign Fund Violations<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a few quick updates on the\u00c2\u00a0Religious Expression in Public Schools bills that we’re opposed to. First, the Senate version has been approved by all of its assigned committees and is now scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-Gg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2597,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2597","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":0},"title":"House version of the Religious Liberties bill now moving","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We've been tracking the Senate version of the\u00c2\u00a0Religious Expression in Public Schools\u00c2\u00a0bill, which has successfully navigated one committee hearing and is headed for its next one next week. We are concerned with two troubling parts of the bill that could have negative implications for science education. Please see our previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2650,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2650","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":1},"title":"A Tale of Two Bills","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Religious Expression in Public Schools bills, which\u00c2\u00a0invite conflicts between creationism and evolution in science classrooms (see our\u00c2\u00a0Religious Liberties Act 2017 blog category), are nearing the finish line in the Florida legislature. The Senate version won easy approval through the entire process and the House version passed through all of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2586,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2586","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":2},"title":"Science is not poetry","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino has a few things to say about Religious Liberties bills sponsored in the Senate by Dennis Baxley:\u00c2\u00a0Getting liberated from science in Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreligious liberties\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 bill. Cerabino brings up a bit about Baxley's past consternation over science education: Back when the Ocala Republican took a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2615,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2615","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":3},"title":"Lots and lots of bill updates today","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite a bit to talk about today. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll start with the Religious Liberties bills that we oppose on the grounds they can negatively impact science education. One passed the Senate judiciary committee this afternoon on a narrow, party line vote of 5-4. I spoke at this meeting but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '17"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2594,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2594","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":4},"title":"Religious Liberties bill on a fast track","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00c2\u00a0Religious Expression in Public Schools bill filed in the Florida Senate is now scheduled to be heard by the judiciary committee March 14 (Tuesday) at 2 p.m. We need you to contact the senators on the committee and urge them to amend or stop this bill due to concerns over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2579,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2579","url_meta":{"origin":2620,"position":5},"title":"Religious Liberties Bill: Analysis and Fasting","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I know. It's the weekend. You're recharging for the week ahead. But I have to ask you to do something on behalf of science education. I have to ask you to send some emails and make some calls. Yes, your voice matters and right now we really need it. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620\/revisions\/2621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}