Opposition to New Science Standards in South Dakota?
In which we see Common core pushback from and “intelligent design” supporter.
A South Dakota state senator dislikes a proposed new set of state science standards, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (November 18, 2014). At a November 17, 2014, public hearing — the second of four — on the standards, Phil Jensen (R-District 33) expressed concern about the treatment of evolution and climate change.
Jensen’s primary complaint about the standards was that they are “inappropriate and unlawful,” since a recent state law prohibits the state board of education from adopting standards intended for multi-state adoption. The new standards were developed in South Dakota, but include elements of the Next Generation Science Standards.
According to the Rapid City Journal (November 18, 2014), “Jensen and other opponents of Common Core said Monday the proposed standards for science and social studies are linked to such multi-state efforts. Their comments included references such as ‘communist,’ ‘evolution,’ ‘leftist,’ ‘climate change’ and ‘environmentalism.’”