Design Should Not Be Taught in Florida’s Public School Science Classrooms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org

Florida Senate Bill 2692 Would Create Cover to Teach Religious Theories in Science Classrooms, Says ACLU

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today spoke out against Florida Senate Bill 2692, following a news conference held by TV personality Ben Stein. The following can be attributed to Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida:

“The presumption of this bill is that all you have to do to teach something in a science class is to call it science. Simply saying something is science does not make it so and calling Intelligent Design science, does not make is science. Intelligent Design relies on the assertion that there is a supernatural creator, which inherently precludes it from being scientific, as the ACLU proved in our landmark case in Dover, PA.

“The issue is not whether theories such as Intelligent Design can be taught in our public schools, but in what setting. Controversies about theories that rely on a supernatural explanation may be suitable in a political science or literature class, but to be included in a science class it must be a theory that is scientifically verifiable. Allowing schools to masquerade Intelligent Design as science would be a blunder and an embarrassment for the Florida Legislature. The courts have spoken on this issue and the message was clear: Intelligent Design, because it relies on a supernatural power, is a religious view not a scientific view.”