*Discovery Institute Praises School District for Withdrawing Class Misrepresenting Intelligent Design*
“If Americans United really believes that it’s OK to teach about intelligent design in philosophy or social studies courses,” said Luskin, “we challenge them to join with us to come up with an objective course that can be taught in the El Tejon district. Otherwise, it will become clear that their real goal is the suppression of any discussion of intelligent design in any classroom anywhere in the country.”
Read the rest at Evolution News & Views, www.evolutionnews.org

A California high school has settled out of court with Americans United for Separation of Church and State who had complained and sued over the school’s teaching of an elective philosophy class called “Philosophy of Design.” The settlement orders the district to cancel the class by Friday next week and says: “No school over which the School District has authority, including the High School, shall offer, presently or in the future, the course entitled “Philosophy of Design or “Philosophy of Intelligent Design” or any other course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design.” Clearly, Americans United for Separation of Students from Science is singing a different tune now than they did last year during the Dover trial.

Many of the most vocal defenders of Darwinism aren’t behaving like dispassionate scientists, secure in the truth of their theory and, therefore, unruffled when others put forward an opposing scientific theory of life’s origin. They’re behaving as if ID theorists have touched a nerve. Three recent essays treat the subject incisively.

*Discovery Institute Statement to El Tejon School Board About Teaching Intelligent Design and Evolution*
Thus, the only remedy at this point to avoid creating a dangerous legal precedent is to simply cancel the course. Cancel the course for this year, and then if you want to teach it again next year, take your time, and consult people from all sides to construct a course that everyone agrees on. You could consult people from Americans United, you could consult the Discovery Institute, you could consult other experts, and you could create a philosophy course which people on all sides agree would be acceptable. Then you could re-teach the philosophy course on origins next year.
Read the rest at Evolution News & Views, www.evolutionnews.org.