School clarifies policy on evolution

The Grantsburg, Wis., school district has changed its controversial policy on the teaching of evolution to clarify that creationism and the theory of intelligent design will not be taught in class.

School Board members approved the new version Monday evening on a 6-1 vote.

Superintendent Joni Burgin said they rewrote the policy to make sure it was legally sound and to allay concerns from some community members that religious theories of origin would be taught in class.

“We wanted to make sure that it was clear that this is a ‘teach-the-controversy-about-evolution’ approach with scientific data,” Burgin said. “It’s not creationism. It’s not intelligent design. It’s science.”

Grantsburg, a rural school district in western Wisconsin about 75 miles northeast of St. Paul, was thrust into the national spotlight when the district approved a policy earlier this school year that called for scientific theories and evidence other than evolution to be taught.

Some community members and academics were concerned the policy opened the gates for religious teachings in school. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions that creationism is based on faith, not science.

The revised policy, which goes into effect immediately, reads:

“Students are expected to analyze, review and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information. Students shall be able to explain the scientific strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory. This policy does not call for the teaching of creationism or intelligent design.”

Michael Zimmerman, dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, is one of 43 University of Wisconsin system deans that urged the board to reverse its policy.

He said he’s happy the district went on the record saying the policy doesn’t call for teaching creationism or intelligent design. But Zimmerman said he questions why the school district is asking high school students to scrutinize evolution at the level of a professional scientist.

“I have no problem with evolution being taught as critically as possible — as long as it’s age-appropriate,” he said.

“Nothing else is facing this kind of scrutiny,” Zimmerman said of other concepts and theories. “I just don’t understand where they’re coming from. What makes evolution so worthy of such special attention? Something is going on that does not make sense.”

Burgin has said there are several reasons to subject evolution to increased scrutiny, including community support and frustration among former graduates who go on to college feeling the school district didn’t teach them more critical information regarding the evolution theory.

She said the revised policy is modeled after Ohio and Minnesota’s state science standards. Minnesota’s standards allow students to be exposed to scientific criticisms of evolution but don’t mandate the teaching of alternative theories.

Amy DeLong, a pastor at Grantsburg’s United Methodist Church, opposed the district’s original policy and said she feels her concerns have been addressed.

But she said it makes her nervous that the Discovery Institute, a national pro-intelligent design group, issued a news release Tuesday praising the new policy’s critical analysis of evolution. DeLong also wondered who will determine what evidence is scientific.

She said the whole issue has been very divisive in Grantsburg over the past few months.

“From my perspective, it’s just hard to see people who disagreed with the district’s original policy lose friendships or lose business for speaking out,” she said. “I think it’s tragic in a community of this size.”