Parents, Teachers and Science Supporters Applaud that SB393 is Stalled for 2017

SB 393--a bill which would have allowed non evidence-based information to be taught in the K-12 science classroom and would have blocked school boards from intervening to stop science miseducation-- ​was pulled from the House floor agenda and will not advance in 2017. The bill was actively opposed by numerous science organizations including the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association, Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education, the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Center for Science Education. It was also opposed by Climate Parents and Credo Action, whose petitions were signed by over 2,100 Oklahoma parents, teachers and science supporters. The Climate Parents petition and CREDO petition are here.

SB 393 has been introduced in the Oklahoma legislature for the last seven years, but 2017 was the first year where it advanced out of a policy committee. The bill passed out of the Senate with a strong majority. As opposition mounted, the House Common Education Committee chose not to hear the bill. However SB393 received an 11th hour hearing in the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee, where it narrowly passed. Thursday 4/27 was the deadline by which the bill would need to be heard on the House floor, and it was removed from the calendar, effectively stalling the bill for the duration of 2017.

Lisa Hoyos, the Director of the pro-science education organization Climate Parents, an initiative of the Sierra Club, said "SB393 was a thinly-veiled attempt to open the door to climate denial in the classroom, and went so far as to bar school officials of requiring only evidence based science education--an alarming sign of the times." She added, "For seven long years, SB393's authors have sought to compromise the integrity of science education in Oklahoma--which ranks 47th in public education in the nation. SB 393's authors must recognize that parents and science teachers want to prepare students to innovate solutions to pressing problems like climate change, and will always fight against those seeking to mislead them or dampen their potential."