Angie Herrington, "Evolution bill will get fair hearing in House, Georgia lawmakers say" (2005)

Evolution bill will get fair hearing in House, Georgia lawmakers say

By Angie Herrington; Staff Writer

Two Northwest Georgia lawmakers said a bill that would change the way evolution is taught in schools will get fair treatment if it is discussed in committee hearings.

Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta, who is a member of the House Education Committee, said he has heard no talk yet about the bill, but the issue of evolution is one that should be debated.

"It is certainly a topic that we need to continue to have discussion about and look at it from both sides," he said.

The bill filed by Rep. Ben Bridges, R-Cleveland, would require science teachers to include "factual scientific evidence" that both supports and disputes evolution when teaching the theory.

Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, said she thinks time and attention should be spent on bills that have a better chance of passing, such as the one that would create a "virtual school" creating online courses for Georgia students.

The member of the House education committee said decisions about how to teach evolution might be better made by committees on the local and state level outside the Legislature.

"I'm not sure the General Assembly needs to be making all the decisions there," Rep. Reece said.

Lisa Davidson, head of the science department at Dade County High School, said the bill unfairly singles out evolution because it does not require that other theories, like the atomic theory, also be challenged.

She said students often ask about creationism when the topic of evolution comes up. "You cannot teach evolution in the Bible Belt without creationism coming into discussion," she said.

The bill states the intent of the legislation is to "strengthen the analytical skills of students by requiring the presentation of a broad range of scientific evidence regarding the theories of the origins of humans and living things."

Dr. Duane Gish, senior vice president of the Institute for Creation Research based in Santee, Calif., said there is plenty of scientific evidence that shows fallacies in evolutionary theory.

E-mail Angie Herrington at [email protected]

Copyright 2005 Chattanooga Publishing Company