In what may be a reprise of the theory of evolution controversy that beset the Kansas public education system a couple of years ago, the Ohio board of education is embroiled in a growing dispute between scientists and advocates of a new version of creationism called “intelligent design.” Using arguments that focus on academic freedom, the intelligent design proponents are pushing to have their alternative to natural evolution written into the state’s K–12 science standards.
The challenge to the theory of evolution arose when a committee of Ohio science teachers and other science education specialists wrote the first draft of new science standards for the K–12 curricula; in that draft, they limited study on the origin of life to natural evolution. Several members of the 19-member state board of education objected and asked that alternative theories, such as intelligent design, be included in the standards.
Intelligent design, a concept first...
