I'd like to personally welcome the state of Florida back to the reality-based community...at least for the sake of their science classes. After a long time of dodging the question, a slight majority on the board of education allowed the "E" word make it into the textbooks. Of course, it didn't happen without a fight from the religious freaks who do not believe in the separation of church and state.
From RawStory:
Florida's public school science standards for the first time will use the word "evolution," although the biological concept already was being taught under code words such as "change over time."
The standards state that evolution is "the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." That statement rankled opponents, some of whom had urged the board to add an academic freedom provision that would have allowed teachers to "engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence."Evolution supporters, including mainstream scientists and clergy, told the board the academic freedom proposal was a wedge designed to open the door for injecting religious arguments into science studies.
Of course the creationists opposed the legislation, they do want God in the classroom, as much as they publicly deny it. They know that by allowing teachers to teach science rather than religion, they will lose the battle that faith be taught as fact in our public schools, those schools that funded by the taxes paid by people of many different faiths or no faith at all.
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