California IN BRIEF : SANTEE : State, School Settle Suit on Creationism

A small Christian graduate school said its right to teach creationism was reaffirmed by a $225,000 settlement in a lawsuit against the state Department of Education. But state education officials said the settlement was a housekeeping action with little significance since the department no longer regulates the Institute for Creation Research or other private post-secondary schools. John Morris, a geology professor and administrative vice president of ICR, said the settlement vindicates the school. The state had acted to bar ICR from awarding master’s degrees in science in 1988. The school appealed and was allowed to continue its program. In the settlement, the Education Department acknowledges that a private graduate school can teach that the biblical theory of creation is correct as long as it also teaches about evolution. The school offers classes only in the summer and enrolled 25 students last year.