Calif. School Scraps 'Intelligent Design' [El Tejon litigation]

That didn't take long.

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Philosophy classes have no place in high school anyway.

Press release from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES TO DROP CREATIONISM COURSE, SETTLE LAWSUIT

El Tejon School Officials Agree Not To Offer Controversial Class Again

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today announced that it has settled a lawsuit over a California school district’s decision to teach a course promoting creationism.

Americans United, with assistance from the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, filed suit against the El Tejon Unified School District last week, seeking to end a course called “Philosophy of Design” that promoted creationist ideas, including “intelligent design.” The course, taught at Frazier Mountain High School in Lebec by special education teacher and soccer coach Sharon Lemburg, relied heavily on videos produced by fundamentalist Christian groups that espouse creationism.

Under the terms of the settlement, the course will terminate one week early. The district’s board of trustees has also agreed to language stating, “No school over which the School District has authority, including the High School, shall offer, presently or in the future, the course entitled ‘Philosophy of Design’ or ‘Philosophy of Intelligent Design’ or any other course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design.”

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “We are delighted with the board’s decision to discontinue the ‘Philosophy of Design’ course and never offer it again. Public schools have no business promoting religion. I hope that other public schools learn from this incident and reject efforts to bring religious doctrines into classrooms.”

Americans United represented local parents who opposed the course for its promotion of religious concepts. Although a lawsuit was filed in federal court, attorneys with Americans United continued to dialogue with school board attorneys, hoping to settle the matter out of court.

“This course was far from intelligently designed,” said Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan. “It was an infomercial for creationism and its offshoot, intelligent design. The class would never have survived a court challenge, and the board of trustees made the right call by pulling the plug on it.”

On Dec. 20, Americans United and the Pennsylvania ACLU won a decisive victory over “intelligent design” advocates in a case from Dover, Pa. In that legal action, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled that intelligent design is not science and ordered it removed from the Dover schools.

The El Tejon case, AU maintained, was even more problematic because it relied heavily on “young-earth” creationist materials that insist that the biblical Book of Genesis is literally true and is scientific a controversial view held by many fundamentalists but rejected by other Christians. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the teaching of creationism in public schools in 1987.

By permitting the course, the El Tejon District was elevating the fundamentalist Christian viewpoint over others and misrepresenting religious concepts as scientific, Americans United asserted in legal documents.

Philosophy classes have no place in high school anyway.

Maybe a genuine, survey type course. It would be more useful to have a beginning course in logic.

El Tejon school officials had claimed the subject was proper for a philosophy class.

Which is correct.

Commies +1
Freedom -1

If I.D. can't be taught in a Philosophy class, under which class should it be taught?

Guess I answered my own question...

Won't be too far down this road where mere possession of a Bible at a school will fall under the same category as a firearm...

Good material. Thanks for adding it to the thread.

"Critics of "intelligent design" say it is biblical creationism in disguise"

The old Straw Man trick....invent your opponents argument to be weak and indefensible then strike it down, thus avoiding arguing the real, and much stronger argument.

These critics should be ashamed of themselves.

I've always said I wouldn't care if they taught creationism outside of science classes or in Abnormal Psychology. The content of philosophy courses probably isn't very important, although I did rather enjoy a "101 Intro to..." course 35 or more years ago.

These critics should be ashamed of themselves.

But they are celebrating their victory. Shameful tactics - yes but they are so proud of the results.

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Worth repeating:

The El Tejon case, AU [Americans United] maintained, was even more problematic because it relied heavily on “young-earth” creationist materials that insist that the biblical Book of Genesis is literally true and is scientific a controversial view held by many fundamentalists but rejected by other Christians. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the teaching of creationism in public schools in 1987.

The problem with a survey course at the high school level is that they could not possibly explain the true significance of any of the major names in the history of philosophy. They couldn't even explain Plato's cave.

If I.D. can't be taught in a Philosophy class, under which class should it be taught?

If they were only going to be discussing the philosophical aspects of ID, then philosophy would be the correct course.

Unfortunately, they were merely calling it a philosophy class. What they were teaching was biological aspects of creationism, i.e.: Young Earth Creationism.

Even the two science teachers at the school objected to the course because the so-called philosophy class undermined what was being taught in science without offering any proof that what was being taught in science was invalid.

Evolution actually has not real scientific basis and cannot explain the origin of life. It has never been proven, therefore it's still a theory. A flawed theory at best.

Creationism, Intelligent Design can also be viewed as a theory as well, in the same light as Evolution since we are being neutral. Therefore, I just see more and more excuses for taking out God from Public view. There will be more Pagan activity in the future......count on it....

...Creationism is a cancer on conservatism...

I am that cancer - be afraid
be very afraid -

God is also a creationist.

Except, in this case, they were actually teaching nothing but creationism, Hugh Ross, Answers in Genesis...even the Discovery Institute thought the class was a pile of crap. Do you think maybe it was, if both sides agreed on it? (Mind you, their reasons for agreeing are not the same, and I don't agree with the DI's reasons).

"Abnormal Psychology"

Since the vast majority of people believe in God, I think Atheism is best taught in an Abnormal Psychology class. And there are some great nutcases as examples...Marx, Nietsche, Stalin, Lenin...the list goes on. And, the worst genocides have been committed in Atheism's name....what is the total now...100 million between Stalin and Mao?

I won't be successful in heading off those who claim that this is somehow an "anti-Christian" result, but this should take care of that incorrect argument:

The "Clergy Letter Project". 10,000 clergymen endorse evolution.
Statements from Religious Organizations. In favor of evolution.