Kansas Primary Seen as Signaling Shift In Evolution Stance

By Julie Blair

Some political watchdogs in Kansas are predicting that the state's controversial science standards adopted last year will soon be a thing of the past. The Republican primary election last month, they say, portends a shift in the ideological winds on the state board of education.

Five seats on the 10-member school board are up for grabs on Election Day this November. The race has reopened the heated debate—both within the state and around the country—that surrounded the board's 6-4 decision in August 1999 to strip most references to evolution and the origin of the universe from the science standards.

The outcome of the state's GOP primary last month means that three of the five Republicans on the ticket Nov. 7—all of whom face Democratic challengers opposed to the...