Court Battle Begins Over Intelligent Design in Pa. School District
As the debate over intelligent design, evolution and their role in public schools continues to play out, a federal court in Pennsylvania will begin to consider today if a theory that calls for an intelligent designer of life can be legally taught in science classes under the Constitution.
On one side is the Dover Area School District, who decided in 2004 to allow criticism of evolution in its curriculum, even as it promoted an alternative book on “intelligent design” – a theory that says nature’s complexity shows that there is an intelligent designer behind it. On the other side are upset parents who have sued the district because they allege that the theory violates the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing religion.
Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian law firm defending the district, says that intelligent design is science and is clearly different than biblical creationism.
"Creationism normally starts with the Holy Scripture, the Book of Genesis, then you develop a scientific theory that supports it, while intelligent design looks at the same kind of empirical data that any scientist looks at" and concludes that complex mechanisms in nature are designed, he said, according to the New York Times.
Some have called Monday’s court hearing the most significant legal case about evolution and creation since the 1987 Supreme Court case of Edwards v. Aguillard, where the court held that teaching creationism was illegal in public schools.
"We're fighting for the First Amendment, the separation of church and state and the integrity of schools," said Eric Rothschild, one of several lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union lawyers who will argue on behalf of parents suing the district, according to the L.A. Times.
"This trial should decide whether a school board can impose its religious views on other students."
In October of 2004, the Dover Area School District resolved to require teachers to read a four paragraph statement before a ninth grade biology class, which pointed out the “gaps” in evolution theory and say that there were alternatives, including intelligent design. In the statement, students are also guided to a book explaining the theory further.
Although intelligent design proponents say that the theory is science, many of the most prominent science organizations in the country have said that it falls far short of being science and refuse to recognize it.
Organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science have opposed intelligent design.
The controversy over teaching intelligent design in public schools has been growing. Comments by President Bush in August saying he would support students being "exposed to different" ideas, including intelligent design have brought additional focus on the issue.
Also that month, the Kansas State Board of Education voted in favor of new science standards that could diminish the standing evolution plays in teaching about the origin of life. It held hearings prior to the vote, inviting scholars on both sides of the issue.
Some of the scientists asked to participate in the hearings chose to stay away, feeling as if they had been asked to participate as tokens regarding a decision that had already been made.
