Idaho House panel OKs new science standards

An Idaho House panel has approved new K-12 science standards, but only after striking key references to climate change caused by human behavior.

This is the third year the Idaho Legislature has struggled to agree on science standards for public schools. Previous efforts that included references to global warming and the Bing Bang Theory have been rejected by Republicans unhappy that the language didn’t offer alternative views.

The last time Idaho’s science standards were updated was in 2001 – which have long been criticized as being too vague and lacking depth

The version approved Thursday had originally included the need to reduce and monitor human impacts on climate change.

However, Republicans on the House Education Committee amended the rules on Thursday to remove those sections before approving them. The committee’s Democratic members opposed.