Sometimes, surprising signs of hope from the most unlikely places.
The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) voted in favor of two policy amendments proposed by outgoing president Thomas Robichaux at last night’s December meeting at McDonogh 35 College Preparatory High School.
Robichaux’s updates included adding “zero tolerance,” among other discipline actions, to its “bullying, intimidation, harassment and hazing” policy,“ and ensuring creationism, intelligent design and “revisionist history” are left out of textbooks. Read more about the policy changes in Gambit.
The textbook selection update says “No history textbook shall be approved which has been adjusted in accordance with the State of Texas revisionist guidelines nor shall any science textbook be approved which presents creationism or intelligent design as science or scientific theories.”
It also applies to teachers: “No teacher of any discipline of science shall teach any aspect of religious faith as science or in a science class. No teacher of any discipline of science shall teach creationism or intelligent design in classes designated as science classes.”
Zack Kopplin, who campaigned to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act (which City Council called to repeal in May 2011), was the only speaker on the textbook policy: “Creationism certainly is not science,” he said, warning that students not only will not meet higher education standards, but they “won’t find New Orleans jobs in the Bio District.”
(via Blog of New Orleans)
Not enough to change my mind about expelling the South from the Union, but impressive nonetheless.
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