Dive Brief:
- For the second time in five months, West Virginia has re-worked its science standards to introduce doubt about man-made climate change. The changes are described as less contentious.
- In December the West Virginia Board of Education announced that it had adopted the Next Generation Science Standards; however, in January it was revealed that board members discreetly tweaked the benchmarks to cause more doubt about climate change.
- Facing backlash from educators and parents, the board decided to backtrack and reinstate the original language; however, on Thursday the board decided to, once-again, make tweaks.
Dive Insight:
While the tweaks are not as big as last time, it still has happened. So what exactly did they change? For one they have added language that asks students to debate scientific issues and use evidence to support “either claims or counterclaims." While there is nothing wrong with healthy debate supported by evidence, but given West Virginia's ties to the energy industries that have been blamed for man-made climate change, this is being construed as attempt to give the okay for other theories on global warming to enter the classroom. Additionally the board decided to change a phrase that said "a rise in global temperatures" to "a change in global temperatures."
