Anti-NGSS bill in Iowa dies

House File 2054, which, if enacted, would have reversed Iowa's decision to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards, died in committee on February 19, 2016, when a deadline for bills to be reported out of committee expired. The NGSS's treatment of evolution and climate change appears to have been part of the motivation for the bill.

The lead sponsor of HF 2054, Sandy Salmon (R-District 63), previously introduced legislation banning the adoption of the NGSS. She told the Cedar Rapids Gazette (March 2, 2015) that she was "concerned that the standards miss some key math and science concepts, present evolution as scientific fact[,] and shine a negative light on human impacts on climate change."

But the Iowa Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards at its August 6, 2015, meeting. HF 2054 would have undone that decision, directing the board to adopt the same science standards used during the 2014-2015 school year and requiring further changes to be approved by the legislature and governor.

So far, eighteen states — Arkansas (so far only for middle school), California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia — as well as the District of Columbia have adopted the NGSS.