Gat0r30y's Journal: Bad Astronomy Blog: Oklahoma One Step from Doom!

It seems Oklahoma has passed a law stating that Earth Science students must be given a passing grade even if they deny the very principles of Earth Science.

A school district shall treat a student's voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint, if any, on an otherwise permissible subject in the same manner the district treats a student's voluntary expression of a secular or other viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject and may not discriminate against the student based on a religious viewpoint expressed by the student on an otherwise permissible subject

I raise the issue not to bash OK, nor to start a flame war. However, I believe it raises some interesting questions. What should be the legislatures role in determining school standards? It seems clear to me that our legislators lack an understanding of science fundamentals which is prerequisite to passing laws that make even an ounce of sense. What steps do we the informed electorate need to take to open a dialog with our government about science education. Of course there is the "contact your congresscritter". Since there's little we can do once they are elected, how might we go about opening a more sincere dialog during the election process to raise issues which are important to the scientific community?