Education Board Considers New Biology Textbooks

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A majority of the state's education board has agreed to a new set of high school biology textbooks for public school students, after a lengthy debate about the teaching of evolution.

Opponents of the books say they fail to explain the many scientific challenges to evolution, teach the subject dogmatically without criticism and contain inaccuracies.

Supporters of the new books say they shouldn't include disclaimers about the theory of evolution, and they argue that critics are trying to force religious issues into science classrooms.

A panel of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 6-1 Tuesday to approve the new books. The full board will take up the matter Thursday, but Tuesday's vote had a majority of the board backing the textbooks.