An anti-evolution and climate change-denying bill (SB 893/HB 368) could come to a vote in the Tennessee legislature as early as Monday, March 19. The teachers, parents, and scientists of Tennessee need your help to stop it.
Claiming that the teaching of "biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning" all "may cause debate and disputation," the bill would block state and local administrators from "prohibit[ing] any teacher in the state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories."
Too many teachers are already presenting creationism and climate change denial as scientifically credible. This bill would only encourage them to go further. And it would encourage creationists and climate change deniers to pressure teachers to present creationism and climate change denial as scientifically credible in spite of their better professional judgment.
This would make it harder for parents to ensure that their kids are taught accurate science, and make it harder for administrators to enforce consistency in the science curriculum.
The bill hurts students, it hurts teachers, and it hurts science.