On Tuesday the Kansas State Board of Education adopted new science standards. According to the Board, these new standards “call for students to learn about the best evidence for modern evolutionary theory, but also to learn about areas where scientists are raising scientific criticisms of the theory.” These standards do not require the teaching of intelligent design. That fact didn’t stop some major media outlets, including Bloomberg News and the Washington Post, from erroneously claiming otherwise. The Bloomberg story began:
Kansas State Board Votes to Teach Intelligent Design in Schools
Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) — The Kansas State Board of Education approved a proposal to teach intelligent design along with evolution as a scientific explanation of how life began.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, carried a fanciful headline announcing: “Kansas Education Board First to Back ‘Intelligent Design.'”
What do the Kansas Science Standards say in reality? Read for yourself the following statement by the Kansas Board contained in the new standards:
We also emphasize that the Science Curriculum Standards do not include Intelligent Design… While the testimony presented at the science hearings included many advocates of Intelligent Design, these standards neither mandate nor prohibit teaching about this scientific disagreement. (emphasis added)
Which part of this statement that the Kansas science standards “do not include Intelligent Design” is so hard for reporters to understand? Or can’t they read?