K-12 Climate Denial Curriculum Introduced in 3 More States

ALEC, which is currently focused on eliminating state Renewable Portfolio Standards and the Northeast cap-and-trade program, is also working on a parallel path that involves America’s youngest minds.

They have hit the ground running this year, pushing model bills that mandate teaching students "climate change denial," notes Steve Horn on DeSmogBlog.

Already, ALEC’s "Environmental Literacy Improvement Act", which mandates a "balanced" approach to teaching climate science in K-12 classrooms, is being considered by state legislatures of Oklahoma, Colorado, and Arizona.

To make it seem like ALEC’s bills are locally born, each bill has a different name. In Oklahoma it’s called, HB 1674, the "Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act."

The bill says the science curriculum should emphasize "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories," including global warming, saying it’s a theory steeped in "controversy."

For students to develop critical thinking skills and be scientifically informed citizens, it’s important to explore "differences of opinion on scientific issues."

As in other states, the bill was introduced by an ALEC member, in this case Rep. Gus Blackwell (R-OK). The majority of his campaign funds came from the oil and gas industry, which funds ALEC.

"One sure sign of a coordinated, ALEC-lead effort is the fact that Colorado’s state legislature introduced the ALEC model on the same day as did Oklahoma’s, says DeSmogBlog. "And eight days later, it made its way to Arizona."

The same bill has been introduced in 11 states over the past five years and has passed in four of them – Louisiana, Texas, South Dakota and Tennessee.

ALEC is working hand-in-glove with sister organization, Heartland Institute on getting this anti-science curriculum adopted across the country.

Attacks on teaching of climate change often go hand-in-hand with efforts to insert creationism or "intelligent design" into public schools. In 2009, the Texas Board of Education mandated that teachers present all sides of the debate on both evolution and climate change.