Reply #5: The Texas Board of Education voted unanimously ... a victory for proponents of teaching evolution [View All]

(Reuters) - The Texas Board of Education voted unanimously to approve mainstream middle school curriculum materials on Friday in a move seen as a victory for proponents of teaching evolution in public schools.

Conservatives had complained the materials up for approval did not adequately address "alternatives to evolution" such as creationism or intelligent design as a theory of how life began.

The board also voted to reject any inclusion of materials submitted by a New Mexico company, International Databases, which claimed Darwin's Theory of Evolution was not proven and that life on earth was the result of 'intelligent causes.'

"These two votes represent a definitive victory for science and the students of Texas, and a complete defeat of the far-right's two-year campaign to dumb down instruction on evolution in Texas schools," said Ryan Valentine, deputy director of the Texas Freedom Network, a liberal group that counters attempts by evangelical conservatives to affect public policy.


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