When Tennessee's legislature debated a "Monkey Bill" in 2012, NCSE joined with concerned citizens to protect science classes. The bill's text singles out evolution and climate change, as if those topics were scientifically controversial, and it blocks school administrators from maintaining a consistent curriculum. It opens the door for creationist parents or students to disrupt classrooms, or for teachers who deny the basic science of climate change to present pseudoscience. Tennessee's parents, teachers, students, and scientists took action to stop the bill, but the legislature passed it, and the governor allowed it to become law. While Governor Haslam refused to sign the bill, stating that the bill brought "confusion" not "clarity," the bill passed the legislature by a veto-proof majority. Those Tennesseeans and NCSE remain concerned about the bill's effects, and remain active in trying to prevent it from harming education in the Volunteer State. The links below list actions you can take. By signing our petition, you can join our action alert email list, and show your support for local teachers and school districts that refuse to allow nonscience into science classrooms.
February 25, 2016