{"id":2706,"date":"2017-04-23T10:14:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-23T14:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=2706"},"modified":"2017-04-23T10:14:31","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T14:14:31","slug":"instructional-materials-bills-its-not-just-about-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2706","title":{"rendered":"Instructional Materials bills: it’s not just about science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Textbooks\"<\/a>We’ve been working hard protesting against the passage of creationist-enabling bills in the state legislature that definitely will upset many school boards across the state when the reality of the bill’s purpose finally hits home. We’ve been highlighting the damage the Instructional Materials bills can have on science, obviously because our organization is all about science. But this bill will impact ALL subjects. Sun Sentinel columnist Gary Stein sheds some light on this:\u00c2\u00a0Johnny wants to read? Heavens, no<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Our Republican-led Legislature is trying to give prayer a heavier presence in school. And now they have two bills that would help parents object to books and classroom materials that may be, ahem, too liberal. If HB 989 and SB 1210 pass, residents could challenge books in school libraries and argue their views before “an unbiased and qualified hearing officer” who could decide if they are unsuitable.<\/p>\n

Translation: Parents can bring complaints to conservative hearing officers who will help them get rid of the books they don’t want their kids seeing, instead of leaving the decision up to school boards which are often made up of liberal heathens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m happy to see he also touches on science:<\/p>\n

What if the book espouses evolution over creationism? Should one parent’s objection mean no child can read that book?<\/p>\n

The whole idea of giving parents a bigger voice in complaining about books could be real time consuming. And hey, schools have plenty of extra time to worry about this kind of stuff, right?<\/p>\n

My solution is simple. If parents don’t want their kids exposed to various ideas and books, let them home school the kid \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and just let them read “acceptable” books.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, I used my speaking time at the Space Coast March for Science yesterday to tell the crowd of hundreds of science supporters about the threats science education faces. Here’s a copy of my remarks:<\/p>\n

You are awesome. You marched here, standing up for science. But what are you going to do next? When today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s event is over, how will you keep on marching<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Do you want something to do? Good! I have something you can do.<\/p>\n

You can help protect the future. In schools across this state are the future scientists and future voters and future leaders. I have news for you. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not getting any younger. One day they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be in charge. We need to make sure they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re prepared with a solid foundation of science knowledge.<\/p>\n

But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult. Right now there are middle school students telling their teacher that the Earth is flat<\/a>, and they mean it. Why? Because an NBA star said so.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult because the Heartland Institute is mailing literature to science teachers nationwide that casts doubt on climate change<\/a> in the hope some teachers will use the material in their classrooms.<\/p>\n

And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult when our state legislature is considering a bill that will crack the foundation we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to build if it becomes law. Creationists, climate change deniers and anti-vaccine nuts are gloating over how easily it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gliding through.<\/p>\n

The bill will mandate that school boards across the state take seriously the demands for equal time in textbooks and other instructional materials for anti-science nonsense. This bill changes the textbook selection process on the local level, allowing them to gum up the works and bully school boards into compromise.<\/p>\n

So, do you want to do something when this march is over? Get out your phones. Do you have yours ready? Look up Florida Citizens for Science. Like Florida Citizens for Science on Facebook. Follow Florida Citizens for Science on Twitter. Bookmark the Florida Citizens for Science blog.<\/p>\n

By the end of the day you will have forgotten all about me, but I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t allow you to forget that you can keep on marching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When you get home, do your homework. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just believe what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m telling you. See for yourself what this bill could do.<\/p>\n

Keep on marching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you agree with our conclusions, then take the next step. Flood lawmakers with calls and emails to warn them about the dangers of this bill.<\/p>\n

Keep on marching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work then tell our governor to veto the bill.<\/p>\n

Keep on marching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work then school boards across this state are going to need your help against the creationists, the climate change deniers and the anti-vaccine nuts. Our teachers need you. Our students need you. The future of science needs you.<\/p>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here for a reason.<\/p>\n

They need you to keep on marching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’ve been working hard protesting against the passage of creationist-enabling bills in the state legislature that definitely will upset many school boards across the state when the reality of the bill’s purpose finally hits home. We’ve been highlighting the damage … 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":[32],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-HE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2384,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2384","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":0},"title":"NCSE takes note of Sunshine State bills","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"December 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Center for Science Education has taken note of the instructional materials bills filed in the Florida legislature. Their analysis is thorough, taking note of the many problems the bills have. For instance: \"A further provision of the bills is also of concern. Currently, instructional materials used in Florida's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2639,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2639","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":1},"title":"Quick Bills Updates","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a quick update on the Religious Liberties and Instructional Materials bills we're watching in the Florida legislature. Religious Liberties: The bill successfully passed through all Senate committees and the full Senate approved it on a 23-13 vote. The House version successfully passed through all committees and is awaiting\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":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Old_and_New_Florida_State_Capitol_Tallahassee_East_view_20160711_1-212x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2431,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2431","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":2},"title":"Instructional Materials Bills Update","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"My column was published in the Community Voices section of today's Daytona Beach News Journal: Don't mix science, religion in public schools. It's a rebuttal to a previous column written by a Flagler County school board member. She supported the two very bad instructional materials bills currently languishing in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2397,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2397","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":3},"title":"Florida Citizens for Science News Release","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"News Release Lawmakers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Instructional Materials Proposal: Costly Headache for School Boards Jan 11, 2016 Florida Citizens for Science Florida Citizens for Science opposes companion bills filed in the Florida House and Senate, HB899 and SB1018, both entitled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Instructional Materials for K-12 Public Education.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d We assert that these bills are in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2391,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2391","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":4},"title":"National Coalition Against Censorship takes an interest","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Coalition Against Censorship has noticed the instructional materials bills filed in the Florida legislature that we here at Florida Citizens for Science are also tracking:\u00c2\u00a0Florida Bills Threaten Science Instruction and Freedom to Read In the end, these bills seem designed to empower ideologically-driven activists to shape what is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2421,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2421","url_meta":{"origin":2706,"position":5},"title":"They’re not dead yet & Getting the word out there","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In my previous post I said that the \"instructional materials\" bills in the state legislature don't look like they're going anywhere. But I also said that they can't be considered dead yet. I was right:\u00c2\u00a0'No bill is dead' in Florida Senate Education, chairman says. Chairman John Legg told the Gradebook\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '16"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '16","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706"}],"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=2706"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2708,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706\/revisions\/2708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}