Legislators Debate Bills on the Teaching of Evolution

Despite a recent string of legal and political setbacks, critics of the theory of evolution have taken up their fight once again in statehouses across the country.

Bills seeking to encourage students to approach the theory skeptically in public school science classes, or to allow the teaching of alternative explanations for life’s development, have emerged in at least 10 states so far this year.

The number of state-level proposals appears to have fallen slightly from last year, when bills were introduced in 12 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. None made it into law, says the nonpartisan research and policy organization, located in Denver, Colo., which has tracked...