West Virginia governor signs vague law allowing teachers to answer questions about origin of life

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed a law Friday that supporters say promotes the free exchange of ideas in science classrooms, despite objections from opponents who said the vaguely worded measure could allow for the incursion of religion into public schools.

The legislation allows public school teachers to answer student questions “about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.”

It was proposed after Republican Senate Education Chair Amy Grady, a public school teacher, said fellow educators have told her they don’t feel comfortable answering questions about theories outside evolution because they don’t know if doing so is permissible.

Speaking to the bill on the Senate floor in January, Grady said the bill is meant to clarify how teachers can approach these situations.

“This says, ‘If a student asks you questions about a theory that they’ve read about or they’ve heard about — maybe it’s not a popular theory, but a theory — you can discuss it,’” she said.

She said the bill is “encouraging our students to think, encouraging our students to ask questions, encouraging our teachers to be able to answer them.”

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Stuck at home during COVID-19, Gen Z started charities </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> $6,500 school vouchers coming to Georgia as bill gets final passage and heads to governor </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline