The decision in Kentucky to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards was editorially praised by the Louisville Courier-Journal (September 15, 2013). As NCSE previously reported, on September 11, 2013, Governor Steve Beshear announced that he would implement the standards on his own authority after the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee voted 5-1 to reject the standards as deficient, despite the fact that the state department of education and state board of education favored them.
The editorial described the five legislators on the subcommittee who voted to reject the standards as voting for ignorance, and expressed a lack of respect for the stated reasons for their votes. Especially unimpressive was the claim that there was a groundswell of opposition: "The Kentucky Department of Education said that prior to the meeting, it received more than 4,000 oral or written comments on the standards, with 3,700 of them in favor of them. This information was not discussed at last week’s meeting."
Praising Governor Beshear for his decision to adopt the standards, the Courier-Journal's editorial warned, "Supporters of science standards must keep up the fight. It's over for now, but the General Assembly, when it meets in January, could overrule Gov. Beshear's decision to enact the standards if lawmakers so choose. That would be a very bad choice. But it wouldn't be the legislature's first bad decision and science standards supporters need to stay organized and make sure they aren't drowned out by a smaller, but louder, anti-science crowd."