A new law that took effect in June could expand how West Virginia teachers respond to questions on the origin of life.
But the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter worries this could encroach upon students’ religious freedoms. With a new school year beginning for most West Virginia students this month, the organization has launched a new online tool for students, parents and guardians to report religious content being taught in public school classrooms.
Earlier this year, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 280, which states that school and government officials cannot prohibit teachers “from responding to student inquiries or answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/ or life came to exist.”
An earlier draft of the bill explicitly sought to give teachers permission to “teach intelligent design as a theory.” Intelligent design theory states that life was created by a higher power, which overlaps with Christian belief in the existence of God.
But in a Friday press release, the ACLU of West Virginia said the initial draft of the bill was in conflict with a 2005 ruling from Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, which found that intelligent design was not rooted in science. The ruling declared the theory could not be taught in public school classrooms because it therefore violated students’ constitutional right to religious freedom.
Any reference to intelligence design was struck from the bill’s final version. But the ACLU said this makes the purpose behind the new law, as well as its potential applications, hazy.
“It’s entirely unclear what exactly the final version of this bill seeks to permit, because it was already lawful for teachers to answer questions about scientific theories,” ACLU Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said in the press release. “What is clear, however, is the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The state may not push specific religious viewpoints onto students, period.”
Sparks said that the ACLU worries teachers might think the law grants them freedom to portray their religious views as science during class. This concern led the ACLU to launch the new online tool, where residents can report their concerns to the organization’s legal team.
The legal team will monitor the situation and review all submissions as the school year continues, Sparks said.
To access the new online tool, visit the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia website.