Georgia Battle to Label Evolution as Theory Ends

Georgia Battle to Label Evolution as Theory Ends

After a four-year legal battle, the Cobb County, Ga., school board announced Tuesday it has abandoned plans to hand out science books with a reminder to students that evolution is a theory, not a fact, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

In 2002, the school board approved the placement of a sticker on the texts that said: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

The stickers were immediately challenged; five parents claimed the message promoted religion and was unconstitutional because it implied the alternative theory of intelligent design.

In 2005, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ordered the Cobb school district to remove the stickers. School officials complied but sought an appeal. Last spring, an appellate-court panel determined it did not have sufficient information to rule and sent the case back to Cooper, effectively upholding his ruling.

Jeffery Selman, one of the parents who demanded the stickers be removed, said the First Amendment provided an argument against the disclaimer.

“Evolution cannot be redefined by people who don’t like it,” he said. “I sued in the name of science and protecting science education.”

Majorie Rogers, one of the parents who sought placement of the stickers, said it is the textbooks that present false information, not the stickers.

"The stickers were just a compromise the school board made to satisfy those of us who were offended by the material in the textbooks," she said. “The textbooks are inaccurate and biased and unconstitutional."

Teresa Plenge, chairwoman of the school board, said the board’s decision to refrain from using the stickers does not imply it considered them a mistake.

The board, she said, saw "the need to put this divisive issue behind us."

The stickers were well within constitutional bounds, she said.

In the settlement, the school board agreed not to alter materials on evolution in textbooks. It also agreed pay $166,659 toward legal fees in the case.