O.C. PLATFORM : Academic Freedom

The content of public school classes lies with the State Board of Education and the local school boards. If the state has determined, which it apparently has, that creationism is not an appropriate scientific theory, then science teachers can be prohibited from teaching it.

This is no different than the state-mandated topics for history class. The state can determine what treatment Columbus gets, whether it be as the “discoverer” of America or as one of the first Europeans who came here.

Public school teachers have no First Amendment right to deviate from the established curriculum. The state has the authority to set the curriculum and to see that its employees toe the line. There is nothing in the First Amendment that requires the public school classroom to be an open forum for the religious or political views of government employees. This is particularly true in a setting where the audience’s attendance is required by state law.