The Texas Board of Education will decide whether to scrap a requirement that public schools teach high school students to scrutinize "all sides" of a scientific theory after hearing from academics who say that was meant to water down lessons on evolution.
Supporters of the existing high school science curriculums told the board Tuesday that changing the rule could hurt independent thought in classrooms across America's second-largest state.
How Texas teaches its 5.3-plus million public school students evolution has been a flashpoint for years, despite federal courts rulings against teaching creationism and the similar theory of intelligent design in public schools.
The standards govern what teachers cover in classrooms, topics covered on standardized tests and the material published in textbooks statewide.
