New Mexico is going to tweak its proposed science education standards, following criticism, the Associated Press reports. The public education secretary says the new version will include global warming, the age of the Earth, and evolution.
The state had proposed new guidelines based on the Next Generation Science Standards, which a number of US states have adopted. However, New Mexico's version left out the age of the Earth, changed "global warming" to "temperature fluctuations," and eliminated some mentions of evolution. This proposal raised concerns among local and national science and education organizations as well as among scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
A hearing earlier this week likewise heaped criticism on the proposal, the New Mexican reports.
Christopher Ruszkowski, the public education secretary in New Mexico, now says the proposed standards will be re-written, KRQE adds.
"This is a very positive development," Santa Fe school board member Steven Carrillo tells the New Mexican. "It definitely shows that they are putting kids and science education first. I hope that this begins a trend in trusting science and teaching professionals to guide education."