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Storms joins Darwin debate
The state senator files a bill to protect teachers who present other arguments.
By Jeffrey S. Solochek, Times Staff Writer
Published March 4, 2008
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State Sen.Ronda Storms calls her bill the "Academic Freedom Act."
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It looks like the Florida Legislature will have its say on the role of evolution in the science classroom, after all.
State Sen. Ronda Storms, a Brandon Republican, has filed what she calls the "Academic Freedom Act" (SB 2692) with a stated goal of "providing public school teachers with a right to present scientific information relevant to the full range of views on biological and chemical origins."
The bill comes two weeks after the state Board of Education narrowly approved science standards that embrace evolution. In voting against the new standards, board member Donna Callaway said the proposed standards should acknowledge that there is a debate about evolution - and give teachers and students the academic freedom to pursue alternative theories.
In the findings section of the bill, Storms writes that the Legislature finds that many Florida teachers have "experienced or feared discipline, discrimination or other adverse consequences" for presenting a "full range of scientific views" regarding chemical and biological origins.
Her bill would ban penalizing teachers for teaching alternatives and disallow action against students for taking a position on evolution.
There's no related House bill filed yet.
But House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, told the Florida Baptist Witness in a story after the science standards vote that the evolution battle "will go on for quite some time" and that the House "may have sufficient votes" to act on an academic freedom proposal.
Terry Kemple, president of the Brandon-based Community Issues Council, praised the effort. He worked closely with Storms in preparing the legislation.
"Finally teachers and students will have the opportunity to cover all the information regarding the theory of evolution," Kemple said in a news release, in which he also noted that a House member will be filing the same bill.
But Brandon Haught, a blogger for Florida Citizens for Science, calls the proposal typical grandstanding and predicts the bill will go nowhere: "This bill was written in a way to make it way too obvious what the purpose is, and so it won't be taken seriously."
Still, he writes, it "wouldn't hurt to write to your Florida legislators to let them know what you think of this."
[Last modified March 3, 2008, 22:53:47]
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Comments on this article
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by Nick
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03/11/08 02:10 PM
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And the dumbing of America continues.
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by Pete
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03/06/08 08:38 AM
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The Disco Institute questions your reading comprehension.
Details here:
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2008/03/darwinist_activists_at_florida.html
more explanation here:
http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2008/03/discovery_institute_dishonest.php
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by Izzy
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03/06/08 12:21 AM
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You poor, benighted losers: why don't you just move out of your backward state? Looks to the rest of us that the Rondas are firmly in control. You're mostly Protestants -- Luther spent his whole life working to give you the freedom to think & choose.
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by timm
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03/04/08 10:15 PM
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This is what clue-less politicians with limited education and no understanding of municipal operations or fiscal responsibility pass off to the voters as "serving the public". How about getting that bungling de-sal plant to turn salt water into wine?
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by Kyle
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03/04/08 07:16 PM
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Ronnie, is it my turn to take a hit yet? Stop bogarting that thing. Pass it along.
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by deep throat
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03/04/08 07:05 PM
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not true; i work in a school, the science teachers up to know have been afraid to even mention darwin for fear of attack by the religious nut jobs because they make so much noise. even students in ap courses have told me so. that's why we can't compe
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by rick
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03/04/08 06:58 PM
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she gets voted in buy (pun intended) the rich people she represents with the districts drawn specifically for them remember! democracey is dead.
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by Steven
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03/04/08 06:36 PM
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Hopefully she will create a law to protect teachers who wish to teach the alternative theory that 2 plus 2 equals 7.
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by ra
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03/04/08 05:43 PM
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Putting all of your faith in science.....God help us.
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by Jack
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03/04/08 05:27 PM
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This bill is a veiled attempt to get the discredited creationist theory of "intelligent design" into classrooms in public schools. The federal district court in Dover, Pennsylvania, determined that the theory of intelligent design is religion.
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by Ronnie
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03/04/08 04:03 PM
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If they can teach anti-religion, then they should at least be allowed to teach an alternative such as pro-religion, or Creation. Ronda is just trying top protect us from the anti christ. Bravo Rhonda Storms!
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by Chris
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03/04/08 03:11 PM
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We all know it's not really academic freedom they want; it's freedom to proselytize in the schools, and her bill is worded so specifically it's easy to get around by manufacturing a controversy about what's "scientific".
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by Rick
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03/04/08 02:31 PM
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Storms is an intellectual lightweight hoping to position herself for a congressional run by grandstanding on a polarizing issue.
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by Tina
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03/04/08 02:10 PM
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Evolution is a systematic study of development which we can observe NOW i.e. antibiotic resistent bacteria. Why confuse the issue in a SCIENCE class?
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by Prescott
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03/04/08 01:44 PM
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Another attempt by the anti-American, anti-science whackos to guarantee our students' failure to compete on the world stage in science. Third World status, here we come!
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by numi
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03/04/08 12:48 PM
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Great! Trot put the unicorns and leprechuans, as well. Ain't America great? Everyone free to be as stupid as they want to be and led by proud morons.
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by Gary
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03/04/08 11:56 AM
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Evolution has holes you could drive a Mack truck through. Origin of life from non-life, origin of metamorphosis, photosynthesis, incredible variety of reproductive systems, the limits of natural selection. These should be admitted in class.
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by Ray
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03/04/08 11:19 AM
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This is just plain silly. There are no "other arguments," and there is nothing "academic" about the religious myths these people want taught in place of science. Keep it in your church buildings.
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by Chris
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03/04/08 10:44 AM
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The stated goal for this bill is self-defeating. The term scientific means that creationism or intelligent design or whatever the new term is this week can't be discussed because scientific means a phenomema is observable, measurable, and repeatable.
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by JLO
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03/04/08 10:21 AM
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To State Sen. Ronda Storms academic freedom apparently means the right to inject religious ideas into public school and to deny credible science without any responsibility for one's actions.
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by ENough
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03/04/08 10:21 AM
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Oh this is wonderful! If it passes, I can tell my Native American creation story, "Green Turtle Island," in science class. And then each religion can tell their story, because under "Academic Freedom Act" kids will have lots of theories to explore!
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by Hopalong Casualty
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03/04/08 10:19 AM
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Yay! Thank you Ronda! That means my kid's teacher will be able to teach about the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
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by Roxy
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03/04/08 10:06 AM
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What a waste of taxpayer money. Let's fund the schools and not spend money arguing about what they teach. That is what the School Board is for.
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by Heath
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03/04/08 10:05 AM
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So when will we see a bill mandating that churches teach evolution as an alternative to creationism? Doesn't the church-going public deseve to be presented "a 'full range of scientific views' regarding chemical and biological origins."?
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by Heath
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03/04/08 10:01 AM
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How has Storms made a career of being in the wrong by pandering to religious zealots? Too bad the "right to present scientific information" precludes the creationism (by whatever name) that she is trying to get into the classrooms.
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by Here we go again...
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03/04/08 09:40 AM
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Thanks AGAIN, Tampa for electing this whack-job?
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by John
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03/04/08 09:40 AM
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So that means schools will be able to teach the Flying Spaghetti Monster theory too?
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by DD
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03/04/08 09:24 AM
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I always knew Ronda Storms was short on intelligence and heavy on ignorance, but this bill proves it. NEWSFLASH- the full range of biological and chemical origins does not include "God did it" as a scientific explanation.
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by Mitch
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03/04/08 09:09 AM
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Academic Freedom? Bull! It's another evangelical attempt to hijack government. As a Christian I resent these covert efforts to take over government. I wonder how Storms will feel when a Muslim teacher disputes the deity of Christ under the same Act.
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by Tony
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03/04/08 09:02 AM
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Wonder if Ronda wants my daughter's Muslim or Jewish teachers to teach her about the Bible and the Christian views? Or will Ronda then bring legislature to bann non-Christian teachers to teach science? How low will this lady go?
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by Paul
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03/04/08 08:53 AM
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Astonishing.... China is catching up, people! Stop wasting our time on this nut-job stupidity!!
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by Eric
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03/04/08 08:44 AM
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It's an election year yet Storms fails to realize that in every district where teaching evolution has generated controversy, those favoring magic creation and opposing rational science have lost hands down every time?
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by Andrew
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03/04/08 08:31 AM
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Storms wants to take art out of public buildings and now make it possible to teach religious crap in the classroom. Thanks Brandon for electing this cavewoman.
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by Al
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03/04/08 08:30 AM
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A right to present "scientific information" will not cover the unscientific belief that God made the Earth and all its living forms in six days.
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by Paul
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03/04/08 08:24 AM
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Once again, she avoids real issues like insurance and property taxes. Why does anyone vote for this media clown?
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