Antiscience bill dies in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's Senate Bill 665 (PDF), which would, if enacted, have deprived administrators of the ability to prevent teachers from miseducating students about "scientific controversies," died in the Senate Education Committee on February 26, 2015, when a deadline for senate bills to pass committee expired. Of the five antiscience bills introduced in 2015, only Missouri's House Bill 486 is still alive.

The sole sponsor of Oklahoma's SB 665 was Josh Brecheen (R-District 6), who introduced similar legislation in three previous legislative sessions. Brecheen's SB 1765 in 2014 — virtually identical to SB 665 in 2015 — was opposed by the National Association of Biology Teachers and the American Institute of Biological Sciences, as well as by the grassroots Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.