IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Proposed state science standards could remove the phrase ‘climate change’ and some mentions of evolution.
The Iowa Department of Education held a public feedback meeting with educators, experts, and community members Wednesday.
Everyone who gave their feedback to Iowa’s Department of Education about the science standards was against the wording changes.
Speakers said removing phrases like ‘climate change’ or replacing references to evolution aren’t just semantics, it’s making the standards inaccurate.
Educators and experts didn’t mince their words when describing the proposed changes to Iowa’s science education standards, saying the changers would be “disadvantaging all students”.
The standards currently include climate change, the human impact on Earth’s climate, and evolution.
The proposal the state wants for the new standards erases the phrase climate change entirely, and it removed several other details such as the Earth’s age from various science standards.
“So when we remove that from the science standards, a question for me is can we still call them science standards when we’re not even adhering to basic science,” said Alison Warren, a former science teacher.
Two of the speakers say they were members of the committee who reviewed the science standards. On the state department of education’s website it says that committee reviewed the standards the public is now seeing.
Those committee members said that’s not true.
“It reads as if this document was presented by the standards review team. That’s not what happened,” said Jeff Nordine, a science standards revision committee member.
TV9 obtained a copy of the original science standards document the review team approved, and it does mention climate change, evolution, and humans’ impact on Earth’s climate.
Committee members said they didn’t find out that information would be removed until after the document went to the public.
“I don’t know how that happened. I don’t remember being informed that that was going to happen,” Nordine said.
TV9 asked the Department of Education who made changes to the standards and why.
The Department refused to answer any questions.
The wording changes don’t necessarily prevent teachers from teaching climate change, educators say it just makes it harder.
The Department of Education has another public information meeting tomorrow in Ottumwa and next Thursday in Des Moines.
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