A creationist textbook publisher in Texas has withdrawn its name from a list of those planning on submitting supplemental materials for adoption by the Texas Board of Education.
The Foundation for Thought and Ethics had thrown its name into the ring in November for the Texas Education Agency, saying that it intended to submit materials to be used in state biology classes. In 2009, the Board of Education approved new standards to its state biology curriculum standards, attempting to create wiggle room for educators to raise doubt about the validity of evolution.
Last week, according to FTE’s web site, it sent a letter to the state education agency, saying now that it would not be submitting any materials. As I wrote last week, FTE is the same publisher who wrote Of Pandas and People, the intelligent design textbook that was so famously exposed as rehashed creationist literature during the trial of Kitzmiller v. Dover.
The Board of Education will review materials submitted by publishers in March and just because FTE will not be a contender in the race, doesn’t mean that anti-evolutionists will now back off. The Texas Freedom Network, which monitors religious attacks on its state education system, is reporting that the creationists will now try to pressure legitimate publishers to water down the teaching of evolution. Stay tuned.
