Textbook Authors were told that some references to “Climate Change” must be Removed from Science books, before they could be accepted for use in Florida’s Public Schools.
A High School Biology Book also had to add Citations to back-up Statements that “Human Activity” caused Climate Change, and Cut a “Political Statement” urging Governments to take Action to Stop Climate Change, said Ken Miller, the Co-Author of that Textbook and a Professor Emeritus of Biology at Brown University.
Both Miller and a Second Author who asked Not to be Identified, told the Orlando Sentinel they learned of the State-directed Changes from their Publishers, who received Phone Calls in June from State Officials.
Miller, also President of the Board of the National Center for Science Education, said the Phrase “climate change” was Not Removed from His High School Biology text, which He assumed happened because Climate Change is mentioned in Florida’s Academic Standards for Biology courses.
But according to His Publisher, a 90-page section on Climate Change was Removed from its High School Chemistry Textbook, and the Phrase was Removed from Middle School Science Books, He said.
The other Author said He was told Florida wanted Publishers to Remove “extraneous information” Not listed in State Standards. “They asked to take out phrases such as climate change,” He added.
The actions seemed to echo Florida’s previous rejection of math and social studies textbooks that state officials claimed include passages of “indoctrination” and “ideological rhetoric.” And they fall in line with the views of many GOP leaders, who question both the existence of climate change and the contributions of human activities to the problem, despite a broad scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is transforming the earth’s environment.
In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a Bill that Stripped the phrase “Climate Change” from much of Florida Law, reversing 16 years of State Policy and, Critics said, undermining Florida’s Support of Renewable and Clean Energy.
The Bill did Not address Public Education nor the State’s Science standards, which were adopted in 2008 and spell out what Students should learn in Science instruction from Kindergarten through 12th grade. But SB 1645 altered Florida’s Energy Policy, removing the Goal of Recognizing and addressing “the potential of global climate change,” Senate Staff wrote in an Analysis of the Bill.
DeSantis has said the New Legislation, passed by Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature, was “restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.”
The Florida Department of Education, did Not initially respond this week to a Request for Comment about the Science Books, nor did it respond to earlier Questions in May and June about when the Approved List of Science Textbooks for Elementary, Middle, and High School Science Classes, would be Released.
Florida’s School Districts use the List to purchase Books for their Schools and had been told the State would Release the Science List in April. Late Tuesday, the Department posted the List on its website.
But there are No Textbooks for High School Environmental Science Classes on the Approved List, though Three Companies submitted Bids to supply Books for that Class.
“How do you write an environmental science book to appease people who are opposed to climate change?” asked a School District Science Supervisor, who is involved in science textbook adoption for Her District.
She and other Educators, the Textbook Authors, and Science Advocates, said the State’s actions will rob Students of a deeper understanding of Global Warming, even as it impacts their State and Communities through Longer and Hotter Heat Waves, more ferocious Storms, and Sea Level rise.
Florida had already earned a Public Education system D, and was among the Five Lowest-Ranked States in the Country.
Excising the concept from Science Textbooks will make Florida Climate Education even worse than it is now. These ill-considered actions are going to Cheat Florida Students, as they continue to College and future work environment.
There were 146 Textbooks submitted for consideration. About 75 from a Total of about 10 Publishers were Approved for Middle and High School Classes, with Four Publishers also Approved to provide Science Books for Kindergarten-to-Fifth-grade Classes, according to Documents on the department’s website.
Science Textbook Publishers were also told in advance, to keep “critical race theory,” “social emotional learning” and other “unsolicited strategies” out of their Textbooks.
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