The head of the Texas Education Agency's science curriculum alleges she was forced to resign because of a memo about a talk on intelligent design.
Chris Comer told The Austin American-Statesman she resigned after being accused of creating the appearance of bias against teaching intelligent design. Documents obtained by the newspaper show that agency officials recommended firing Comer for repeated acts of misconduct and insubordination.
The newspaper said Comer was placed on administrative leave after she forwarded an e-mail last month announcing a presentation being given by Barbara Forrest, author of a book that says creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools.
A memo from agency officials said Comer's e-mail implies the agency "endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral."
The State Board of Education is set to begin reviewing the science portion of the statewide curriculum that will be used to determine what should be taught in Texas classrooms and what textbooks are bought.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Related stories:
Space voyaging rock reveals insight into detecting life on other planets
(PhysOrg.com) -- Intelligent life from other planets would be able to tell that Earth is inhabited if they had come into contact with a space voyaging piece of Orkney rock, scientists have revealed.
Wireless technologies used today based on decades of work at Virginia Tech
Technologies used today by companies, such as Direct TV, Iridium Satellite, Bluetooth, and Globalstar, are based on satellite communications efforts started at Virginia Tech four decades ago in its Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).
Transit systems are not well-integrated into local emergency plans
Millions of people each day rely on transit, yet few urban area emergency plans have focused on its role in an emergency evacuation, says a new report from the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board. Transit systems could play a significant role in transporting carless and special needs populations in times of emergency, but these groups are inadequately addressed in most local emergency plans and evacuating them could easily exceed limited transit resources.
ATV Jules Verne automated ship docks to the ISS
ATV Jules Verne, the European Space Agency’s first resupply and reboost vehicle, has successfully performed a fully automated docking with the International Space Station (ISS). This docking marks the beginning of Jules Verne’s main servicing mission to deliver cargo, propellant, water, oxygen and propulsion capacity to the Station, as well as ESA’s entry into the restricted club of the partners able to access the orbital facility by their own means.
Can a laser scanner drive a car?
A car that navigates city streets without a driver – steered only by a computer? That might seem impossible to many. But researchers from Fraunhofer and the FU Berlin are presenting such an automated vehicle at this year’s Hannover Messe on April 21 through 25, 2008. Its core element is a three-dimensional laser scanner.
NASA Robots Practice Moon Survey in the Arctic Circle
Two NASA robots are surveying a rocky, isolated polar desert within a crater in the Arctic Circle. The study will help scientists learn how robots could evaluate potential outposts on the moon or Mars.
Nanotechnology requires immediate changes in EPA
Regulatory oversight of nanotechnology is urgently needed and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should act now, reports a new study released today. In EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century, former EPA assistant administrator for policy, planning and evaluation, J. Clarence (Terry) Davies, provides a roadmap for a new EPA to better handle the challenges of nanotechnology. New nanomaterials and nanotechnology products are entering the market each week, and an adequate oversight system is necessary to identify and minimize any adverse effects of nano materials and products on health or the environment. Davies' report sets out an agenda for creating an effective oversight system as nanotechnology advances—the technology that some have hailed as "the next industrial revolution."
Search for life in space getting closer
Scientists in Britain say they are making remarkable advances in the search for life in other solar systems, though results are more than a decade off.