{"id":537,"date":"2008-04-10T17:30:04","date_gmt":"2008-04-10T21:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=537"},"modified":"2008-08-31T16:30:02","modified_gmt":"2008-08-31T20:30:02","slug":"house-bill-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=537","title":{"rendered":"House Bill Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do me a favor. Read this bill analysis for Florida House Bill 1483 <\/a>(the deceptively-named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153academic freedom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d bill). See if you arrive to the same conclusion I have: Essentially, this analysis is calling this bill pure garbage. The screeching cry for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153academic freedom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is clearly shown to be a farce by this document. If passed, the bill would destroy any semblance of clear, consistent, cohesive science education across the state. School administrators could find their hands tied, and students could wind up getting substandard education and flunking portions of the science FCAT. Here are just a few excerpts:<\/p>\n

The bill, in effect, with regard only to biological or chemical evolution restricts the ability of the State Board of Education or the district school board to define and regulate curriculum content.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, it is unclear how this provision will be executed if other \u00e2\u20ac\u0153objective and relevant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d curriculum, which is within the teacher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purview to determine, is inconsistent with the prescribed curriculum.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finally, if a principal, the district school superintendent, or the school board determine that the information a teacher is presenting is not objective, relevant, or scientific, then the administration must prove its case prior to any action against a teacher. This may result in case-by-case determinations which, based on the propensities of the science teachers in the district, may prove frequent and challenging. This bill will affect costs of administering the science curriculum and, although indeterminate, may increase litigation expenses for the school district.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Course materials\u00e2\u20ac\u009d may include any supplemental \u00e2\u20ac\u0153scientific, relevant, objective\u00e2\u20ac\u009d information deemed appropriate by each, individual science teacher. Accordingly, the teacher could include in any student evaluation the content of such supplemental course materials. To the degree the supplemental course material contradicts the established science curriculum (as set forth in the SSS and established by the school district), the student is put in a tenuous situation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The two bill analyses done on the Senate side were similar in tone. This bill is just a court case waiting to happen, and in the meantime students potentially suffer from a convoluted science education. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m flabbergasted that the Senators who voted for this garbage had their bill analyses right there in front of them. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bother to read that sound advice.<\/p>\n

As you call or e-mail House representatives, tell them to do two things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Read the analysis very carefully<\/li>\n
  2. Ask the bill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presenter (Rep. Hays) to provide some examples of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153scientific\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153relevant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d information that refutes evolution.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let Hays off the hook like Senator Storms was. Arm the representatives with basic information about Kitzmiller vs. Dover <\/a>in the event Hays brings up intelligent design. (Intelligent design was found to be devoid of science and based on religion in a federal court of law.) Feed the representatives information to counter Hays if he runs off at the mouth about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gaps in the fossil record\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there are no half rats and half bats.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Those are not valid \u00e2\u20ac\u0153scientific\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153relevant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d arguments; rather, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re tired old creationist talking points that were trashed years ago (examples here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Do me a favor. Read this bill analysis for Florida House Bill 1483 (the deceptively-named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153academic freedom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d bill). See if you arrive to the same conclusion I have: Essentially, this analysis is calling this bill pure garbage. The screeching cry … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-8F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":566,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=566","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":0},"title":"Release: Response to today’s vote","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"April 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The following was sent out to the media today: Response to today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s House vote passing the deceptively named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153academic freedom\u00e2\u20ac\u009d bill. April 28, 2008 Contact: Brandon Haught, Florida Citizens for Science bhaught@flascience.org \/ www.flascience.org \/ (Media Page available) Rep. D. Alan Hays wants to know what people are afraid of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08"","block_context":{"text":"\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":612,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=612","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":1},"title":"Why does a Louisiana issue matter in Florida?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We here in Florida endured a lengthy public debate concerning the teaching of evolution in our public schools. It started with the revision process of the state science standards and then rolled right into the state legislative session. Fortunately, the standards were not meddled with too much, and the bills\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 13 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 13 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=612#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":794,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=794","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":2},"title":"The new legislative session","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"November 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The shape of the next Florida legislative session is developing. As we watch and prepare for any bills that might affect science education, or education overall, here is a snapshot of the past and the future of the state Senate. I will try to do a similar analysis for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "\"ID Creationism\" bills '09"","block_context":{"text":"\"ID Creationism\" bills '09","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=27"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":564,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=564","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":3},"title":"Final week","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"April 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to the final week of the state legislative session. Today will most likely see the final vote in the House on the anti-evolution bill, so keep an eye on the bill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s page to find out the end result. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anticipate any surprises there. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened so far: The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08"","block_context":{"text":"\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2572","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":4},"title":"Update: Religious Liberties bill","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A bad bill filed in the Florida Senate by Sen. Dennis Baxley that could potentially affect science education has taken its first step forward. SB 436, entitled the Religious Liberties bill, is scheduled to be considered by the education committee on March 6 at 1:30 p.m. Many bills are filed\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":2951,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2951","url_meta":{"origin":537,"position":5},"title":"“Controversial theories” science education bill filed in Florida senate","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"November 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a live one. This past Friday Sen. Dennis Baxley filed a bill in our state legislature concerning public education. Senate Bill 966\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purpose is to revise \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards; providing that such standards are the minimum baseline core content standards for K-12 public schools.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Controversial Theories bill 2017\/18"","block_context":{"text":"Controversial Theories bill 2017\/18","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537"}],"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=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}