A South Dakota state senator dislikes a proposed new set of state science standards, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (November 18, 2014). At a November 17, 2014, public hearing — the second of four — on the standards, Phil Jensen (R-District 33) expressed concern about the treatment of evolution and climate change.
Jensen's primary complaint about the standards was that they are "inappropriate and unlawful," since a recent state law prohibits the state board of education from adopting standards intended for multi-state adoption. The new standards were developed in South Dakota, but include elements of the Next Generation Science Standards.
According to the Rapid City Journal (November 18, 2014), "Jensen and other opponents of Common Core said Monday the proposed standards for science and social studies are linked to such multi-state efforts. Their comments included references such as 'communist,' 'evolution,' 'leftist,' 'climate change' and 'environmentalism.'"
In 2014, Jensen was a cosponsor of South Dakota's Senate Bill 112, which if enacted would have provided that "[n]o school board or school administrator may prohibit a teacher in public or nonpublic school from providing instruction on intelligent design or other related topics." The bill was killed in the Senate Education Committee.
In 2010, while serving in the South Dakota House of Representatives, Jensen was a cosponsor of South Dakota's House Concurrent Resolution 1009, which called for "a balanced approach for instruction in the public schools relating to global climatic change." The resolution was adopted by both houses of the legislature.
Jensen is asking the state attorney general to provide an official opinion on the legality of the standards. The president of the state board of education told the Argus Leader that there is plenty of time: there are two further public hearings to be held before the board decides whether to adopt the standards in May 2015.