texas education agency director of

Texas Education Agency director of science curriculum fired for announcing

Barbara Forrest talk

Chris Comer, the director of science curriculum for the Texas

Education Agency, was forced to resign from her position. Her offense?

Forwarding an email from the National Center for Science Education

announcing a talk by philosopher and intelligent design critic Barbara

Forrest, and adding the text "FYI."

The call to fire Comer came from Lizzette Reynolds, formerly at the

U.S. Department of Education and former deputy legislative director

for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. She wrote in an email to Comer's

supervisors that "This is highly inappropriate. I believe this is an

offense that calls for termination or, at the very least, reassignment

of responsibilities."

The movie "Expelled" makes a big deal about cases like the Sternberg

affair, where nobody lost a job or responsibilities, and the denial of

tenure to Guillermo Gonzales, whose publication record didn't merit

tenure. But here's a case of someone who appears to have actually been

removed from her position for sending out an announcement of a talk

critical of intelligent design--a subject which the courts have

already ruled is unconstitutional to teach in the science classroom.

TEA officials claim that Comer was removed for "repeated acts of

misconduct and insubordination," which Comer describes as really

meaning her concerns about teaching creationism in schools. The Texas

Republican Party platform explicitly advocates teaching intelligent

design in public schools.

Wesley Elsberry has more about the Comer case at the Austringer blog,

where he wonders whether the Discovery Institute will decry Comer's

firing, since they've been willing to stretch the facts to complain

about cases with far less substance to them:

Will the Discovery Institute come forward to say that the TEA is

repressing Ms. Comer's free speech rights? Will they urge her to

become the star of the "Expelled" movie? After all, she did

actually lose her job over her stance on evolution in education, as

opposed to various people noted as being featured in the film who

did not. But the DI is unlikely to do so because Ms. Comer is on

the opposite side of the issue from them. They aren't defending a

principle, they are pushing a particular line of propaganda.

I agree with Wesley. The Discovery Institute has a long record of

misrepresenting facts (and not just about science) in order to promote

its views. I suspect they will either remain silent or try to defend

Comer's removal.

Pharyngula also comments on Comer's removal, including the following

explanation from Comer's boss:

the forwarding of this event announcement by Ms. Comer, as the

Director of Science, from her TEA email account constitutes much

more than just sharing information. Ms. Comer's email implies

endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the

speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain

neutral. Thus, sending this email compromises the agency's role in

the TEKS revision process by creating the perception that TEA has a

biased position on a subject directly related to the science

education TEKS.

As P.Z. Myers comments: "Whoa. The Texas Education Agency is neutral

on the subject of teaching good science? It's bad if the TEA takes a

position on the subject of science education? Apparently, TEA members

are supposed to close their eyes and maximize ignorance before making

decisions. I really feel sorry for Texas."

UPDATE (December 2, 2007): And more, from Texas Citizens for Science

(via Pharyngula).

UPDATE (December 4, 2007): The New York Times editorializes on this

subject.

UPDATE (December 6, 2007): DI Fellow John Mark Reynolds agrees that

TEA is in the wrong here.

UPDATE (December 12, 2007): The Society for the Study of Evolution has

sent an open letter to "Texas TEA."

UPDATE (December 20, 2007): Glenn Branch has written a nice blog post

about his email that cost Comer her job.

Posted by Jim Lippard at 11/29/2007 08:01:00 AM