--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--

Governor Taft Abandons Intelligent Design

February 3, 2006

Today's (Feb 3) Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Governor Taft has concluded that intelligent design should not be taught in Ohio schools. He has called for a legal review of the creationism-based model lesson plan to assess Ohio's vulnerability to a lawsuit.

He also said that he would look more closely at prospective appointees to the Ohio State Board of Education.

We welcome the Governor's actions, and hope that he follows through. We have one reservation. The "critically evaluate" benchmark, H23 in the 10th grade biology standards, is the product of intelligent design creationists, and was the gateway through which a writing team dominated by intelligent design creationists wedged the offending model lesson plan. The lesson plan is not the root problem. It is an implementation of a flawed benchmark that allows and encourages trash science in Ohio science classrooms.

The Ohio intelligent design creationists' strategy, called "teach the controversy", was the invention of Stephen C. Meyer and Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute. It was introduced as a so-called "compromise" at the 2002 debate between Meyer and Jonathan Wells, both from the Discovery Institute, and Kenneth Miller of Brown University and Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve.

Taken up by the Ohio intelligent design movement and led by Deborah Owens-Fink and Father Michael Cochran of the State Board of Education, "teach the controversy" morphed into "describe how scientists continue to critically evaluate evolution" in the standards, and that morphed into "Critical Analysis of Evolution" in the model curriculum. But the content of that lesson plan, which defines the meaning of "critically evaluate", is pure old-time creationism. The five "aspects" of evolution can be traced back decades into the creation science writings produced by such sterling scientific institutions as the Institute for Creation Research. As the recent decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover showed, intelligent design is old-time creationism dressed up in a shiny new label. The term of art for that is "sham".

As documents released by the Ohio Department of Education show, scientific advisors to ODE, both internal and external, saw the sham very clearly. They used phrases like "The sentence .. is a lie" and "As a tool to develop critical thinking it is an insult" and "whacky ID" and "crackpot". Meanwhile senior ODE managers were telling the Board of Education that all was well, and that the "Critical Analysis" lesson plan contained good science. Ohio Citizens for Science can arrange press access to those documents (contacts below).

At its January meeting the Board of Education narrowly defeated a motion to delete the offending lesson plan from the model curriculum by a one-vote margin. But it is not only the lesson plan that is problematic. The "critically evaluate" benchmark is the gateway through which creationists wedged that lesson plan. The benchmark also needs to go.

By wording the standard as it did, and by retaining the offending lesson plan, the State Board of Education has set a "Dover trap" for every school district in Ohio. When legal action comes, it will not be the State Board defending itself in court, it will be some local school district that takes the State Board's actions to mean that it sanctions teaching creationism. But note that the Dover, PA, local district is now on the hook for an estimated $1 million in legal fees. What local district in Ohio can absorb that?

Father Michael Cochran, a member of the State Board of Education, is willing to have the state sued over the issue. How many Ohio taxpayers are ready to support his sectarian agenda? "Let them sue us" is easy to say if you're not going to pay the bill.

On Sunday, Februay 12, the lead attorney in the Kitzmiller case, Eric Rothschild, will discuss the implications of the case for Ohio. Rothschild is a partner with the Philadelphia office of Pepper Hamilton LLP. He will be accompanied by Tammy Kitzmiller, the lead plaintiff. Kitzmiller and Rothschild will speak at Congregation Tifereth Israel, 1354 East Broad Street in Columbus, at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 12, along with Dr. Hillel Chiel. Dr. Chiel is Professor of Biology, Neurosciences, and Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

The event is co-sponsored by Ohio Citizens for Science and the National Association of Jewish Women- Columbus Section. We are making arrangements for Rothschild and Kitzmiller to be available to the press that Sunday.