Ohio school district considers teaching creationism and ‘Agenda 21′ conspiracies
The American Civil Liberties Union this week warned school officials in Ohio not to adopt policies that advanced creationism in the classroom.
“It’s the job of families, not public schools to educate children on spiritual values,” said ACLU of Ohio staff attorney Drew Dennis. “It is irresponsible for schools to repeatedly waste resources designing these types of unconstitutional policies.”
The Springboro Community City School District officials is considering a policy (PDF) that would encourage students to “think critically” about “controversial” issues like evolution, abortion, climate change, UN Agenda 21 and sustainable development. The policy directs teachers to fully explore “all sides” of these issues.
“The role of the teacher in the presentation of assigned issues is vitally important,” the policy states. “All sides of the issue should be given to the students in a dispassionate manner. The goal is for the students to be taught to think clearly on all matters of importance, and to make decisions in the light of all the material that has been presented or can be researched on the issues.”
The proposal presumably requires teachers to bring up creationism during discussions of evolution and conservative conspiracy theories regarding the United Nations when