FFRF worked to make sure that the Napoleon Area City Schools district in Ohio wouldn’t allow a science teacher to claim that evolution was “controversial” while teaching students creationism in their science class.
A district student reported that a biology teacher at Napoleon Junior-Senior High School promoted creationism and framed evolution as a controversial topic during the 2023 school year. FFRF was told that the biology teacher showed students a pro-creation diagram during the class, stating that religious people believe in the story of Noah’s Ark and the flood. The biology teacher reportedly also claimed that it was important for students to understand “both religious and scientific views” on evolution “in order to better understand the controversy.”
FFRF Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence wrote to Superintendent Erik Belcher, who informed FFRF that the school district was “looking into the matter to make sure that all district employees are complying with our board policies.” Accordingly, Belcher reported that no new complaints of such occurrences appeared during the 2024 school year.
