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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Louisiana Students March On Baton Rouge, Demanding Accurate Science Classes | Change.org News

Louisiana Students March On Baton Rouge, Demanding Accurate Science Classes | Change.org News

Louisiana Students March On Baton Rouge, Demanding Accurate Science Classes

by Megan Cottrell · April 28, 2011
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Louisiana high school student Zack Kopplin has one goal: torepeal the Louisiana Science Education Act. Quite the opposite of its name, the bill, passed in 2008, gives public school teachers the ability to teach creationism in their science classes.

Even beyond issues of separation of church and state, Kopplin, a senior, understands the practical impact of the bill on his fellow students.

"When Louisiana students apply to college, people won't know if that student was taught creationism in their science classes," says Kopplin. "Maybe they'll think they don't have the science background to get into college."

Today, Kopplin and his supporters will march on the state capitol in Baton Rouge, demanding that the law be repealed and that accurate, research-based science education be the only curriculum taught in Louisiana classrooms. He's enlisted the help of state senator Karen Carter Peterson, and started a petition on Change.org to rally Louisiana supporters.

But getting this law overturned is no easy task, especially when it was enacted with the help of a well-