Evolution Will Remain In AZ Science Curriculum: Gov. Ducey

PHOENIX, AZ — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey split from state education officials on Monday, saying that evolution should be taught in Arizona schools. The statement follows the release of an updated state science education standards draft, from which the words "evolution" and "evolve" are largely stricken or altered, according to reports.

"I believe in God, I believe that God created humanity and I believe there are evolutionary forces at work in nature and I don't believe they are mutually exclusive," Ducey said, according to CBS5.

12News obtained audio of School Superintendent Diane Douglas saying she believed the theory of intelligent design, which claims our world as it is cannot have been created by chance, but must have been designed by an intelligent entity. She did say, however, that intelligent design would not be taught in science classes.

Gov. Ducey said theories like creationism and intelligent design should be taught in schools as well, but not in science classes. They would be better suited in curricula of history or literature, he said. Creationism is not science. The National Academies of the Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says "Creationist views reject scientific findings and methods."

According to Pew Research, 98 percent of scientists attached to the American Association for the Advancement of Science say humans evolved over time, while two percent said humans existed in our present form since the beginning.

Among all U.S. adults, those percentages stand at 66 and 29, respectively.

While evolution is technically a theory, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence, shown in part by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

The Arizona science teachers who wrote the standards draft, only to have it altered by officials, agree. They were shocked at the prospect of largely removing "evolution" from the state's science standards draft, and see the prospect as a massive step backwards.

In fact, Lacey Wieser, a former teacher, quit the Arizona Department of Education after being told to make the changes to the draft, AZ Family reported. “I was directed to make changes to adjust the wording to 'evolution,'" she said. "That was coming from levels above me, I believe, from the superintendent’s office. I turned in my resignation and said, 'I will not be part of this.'"

“This would be something I would definitely be incredibly uncomfortable with,” said Dr. Amber Struthers, a science teacher at the Jones-Gordon School in Paradise Valley. Struthers, whose doctorate is one of five science degrees she holds, likened removing evolution from the curriculum to removing gravity, 12News reported.

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