Recent Tennessee and Alabama court decisions raise similar issues involving (1) fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment and (2) the process of public education. Outlines the effects these decisions have on teachers and in classrooms. The supporters would suppress critical thinking and imagination while opponents would promote critical…

Describes four court cases involving confrontation between the theory of evolution and the theory of creation: the Scopes trial, the Seagraves trial, Arkansas Act 590, and the Louisiana law. Provides 64 references on the issue. (YP)

This paper, presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Biology Teachers, is focused on legal and judicial problems in mandating equal time for creationism. Past events provide evidence that legislation, policies, and local resolutions that require science textbooks and curricula to include the Genesis account of creation are…