February 5, 2010
John Donald McLeroy, the DDS representative from Texas Education District 9 on the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE), has found his position on the board in jeopardy after his attempts to limit the language surrounding the teaching of evolution in school curriculum. McLeroy was appointed by Governor Rick Perry in 2007, and is known for his young earth creationist stance.
McLeroy voted to change the science curriculum standards in Texas, proposing that the language concerning evolution standards be changed to encourage students to think critically about evolution and to “analyze and evaluate” the evidence. (A more detailed version of the standards can be viewed by clicking here).
While McLeroy never tried explicitly to insert his young earth creationist beliefs into the teaching curriculum, his efforts to limit the language around evolution proved unsettling for many supporters of evolution. On May 26, 2009 McLeroy lost his permanent chairman position in the Texas Senate by one vote shy of a two-thirds majority and was replaced.
With the upcoming election on March 2, McLeroy is fighting for his position against Thomas Ratliff, moderate republican, who received an endorsement from the Dallas Morning News on February 2.
Because of the volume of textbooks purchased by Texas schools, publishers put what the TSBOE wants in the textbooks, which means that the rest of the nation will be using the same textbooks. The March 2, 2010 vote will be a determining factor for schools across the nation.
More about this case can be read at the examiner.com website.