A federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit alleging that science standards for Kansas public schools promote atheism and violate the religious freedoms of students and parents.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled that a nonprofit group, parents, and taxpayers challenging the standards did not claim specific enough injuries from adoption of the guidelines to allow the case to go forward.
The standards, developed by Kansas, 25 other states, and the National Research Council, treat both evolution and climate change as key scientific concepts to be taught from kindergarten through 12th grade. They replace evolution-friendly standards that had been in place since 2007.