{"id":2924,"date":"2017-10-17T21:08:44","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T01:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=2924"},"modified":"2017-10-17T21:08:44","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T01:08:44","slug":"david-against-the-states-goliath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2924","title":{"rendered":"David against the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Goliath"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Florida’s new Instructional Materials law is now featured in an article in the AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) Explorer:\u00c2\u00a0Science Curricula Under Threat?<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem, according to those who think there is one, is in the first sentence of Florida House Bill 989.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6allowing a resident of a county to challenge the use or adoption of instructional materials \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

This bill \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and Gov. Rick Scott signed it into law \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will allow any adult, in any school district, even if he or she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a child attending school in district \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or, for that matter, any school district in the state \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to lodge a complaint over the teaching methods or materials in Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s public schools.<\/p>\n

And while it could potentially pertain to any subject \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Toni Morrison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Beloved,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for instance, has been called pornographic by some Florida parents who want it removed from public school curricula \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the intent, critics contend, has to do with curtailing scientific inquiry, namely with regard to evolution and global climate change.<\/p>\n

Sponsored by the Florida Citizens\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Alliance, whose website construes the fight in nothing less than biblical proportions, casting itself as David against the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Goliath, the organization purports to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153advance a rebirth of liberty in Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and claims the bill is simply about choice and academic freedom.<\/p>\n

Not all agree.<\/p>\n

Jonathan P. Smith, president of Florida Citizens for Science, an advocacy group opposed to the measure, said HB 989 has ominous implications for education in the state.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This bill will allow anyone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I mean anyone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to object for any reason to current text books used in the state,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Make sure to go read the whole thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida’s new Instructional Materials law is now featured in an article in the AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists) Explorer:\u00c2\u00a0Science Curricula Under Threat? The problem, according to those who think there is one, is in the first sentence of Florida … 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":[32,26],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-La","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3147,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3147","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":0},"title":"The Florida House’s bad textbook bill now has a Senate companion","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida House Bill 827 (Instructional Materials), filed in November by Rep. Byron Donalds in preparation for the 2018 state legislative session proposes changes to several of our laws that govern the review and selection of instructional materials used in our public schools. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a Senate companion bill for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Textbooks"","block_context":{"text":"Textbooks","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3435,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3435","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":1},"title":"New Instructional Materials bill includes “controversial issues” requirement","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A bill filed Friday in the Florida Legislature, House Bill 855, proposes making a slew of changes to instructional materials laws, tackling issues like pornography and sex education. Science is not directly mentioned in the bill, but there are two sections that can definitely impact science materials. One proposal is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2793,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2793","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":2},"title":"The fight will now be won or lost where you live.","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Unfortunately, the devious Instructional Materials bill, which creationists and climate change deniers absolutely love, is now signed into law by Governor Rick Scott. This means our fight is only just now beginning. Each and every one of us has to be on alert. You must keep an eye on your\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":1859,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1859","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":3},"title":"Hijinks could ensue","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"April 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A bill is working its way through our state legislature that will turn over review, approval and selection of instructional materials to local school districts. Currently, instructional materials are reviewed and approved by the state and then districts must spend at least half of their instructional materials budgets on state\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 11 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 11 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1859#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2725,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2725","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":4},"title":"Creationist-enabling bill passes; what can you do now?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Florida Citizens for Science membership is dismayed that House Bill 989, a proposed law that will affect how instructional materials for our schools are selected and challenged, passed its final vote in the Senate 19 to 17. We believe that should this bill become law with the governor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s signature,\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\/2015\/12\/textbookskulls-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2575,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2575","url_meta":{"origin":2924,"position":5},"title":"Instructional Materials bills starting to get attention","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Two bills filed in the Florida legislature that could make significant changes to how textbooks and other instructional materials are selected and reviewed at the local school district level are getting attention from the media and other organizations. We believe that the bills (House Bill 989 and Senate Bill 1210)\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2924"}],"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=2924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2926,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2924\/revisions\/2926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}