'Kansas School Board Approves Controversial Science Standards'

article by JODI WILGOREN here.

TOPEKA, Kan., Nov. 8 - A fiercely split State Board of Education voted 6-4 today to adopt new science standards that are the most far-reaching in the nation in requiring that Darwin's theory of evolution be challenged in the classroom.

The new Kansas standards press beyond the broad mandate for critical analysis of evolution that four other states have established in recent years, by citing specific points of contention that doubters of evolution use to undermine its primacy in science education. Among the most controversial changes was a redefinition of science itself so that it is not explicitly limited to natural explanations.