Christine Comer - Response

Response

Newspaper editorial boards have been critical of the actions of TEA officials, including the New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Waco Tribune-Herald, and Philadelphia Daily News. and this event has garnered a fair amount of negative press coverage.

Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education stated that this event "underscores the politicization of science education in Texas". University of Minnesota Morris professor PZ Myers wrote that it was surprising that Barbara Forrest's lecture should be viewed as improper for those interested in educating children appropriately. Steven Schafersman of the Texas Citizens for Science suggests that there was a change in policy at the TEA after the appointments of Don McLeroy as Chairman of the State Board of Education and Robert Scott as Commissioner of Education.

Comer described the situation in a December 7, 2007, broadcast of Science Friday on National Public Radio. Comer stated that she has received support emails from teachers across Texas expressing that they have been pressured not to teach evolution.

Over 100 Texas biology professors signed a letter on December 10, 2007 to Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott stating that TEA employees should not have to remain neutral on evolution.

Robert Scott hinted that there was more to the story, but he did not dare speak about it for fear of being sued. "I am really frustrated with the issue, knowing the truth and not being able to talk about it," Scott is reported as saying by the Waco Tribune-Herald. Scott told The Dallas Morning News that, "You can be in favor of science without bashing people’s faith." The New York Times reports that Comer said in response that she wanted the commissioner to indicate where Comer was "bashing anyone’s faith". “He just doesn’t get it,” Comer opined.

The Dallas Morning News drew attention to the possible role in the Comer case played by disappointment of conservative elements of the Texas community at the decision on textbook purchases in 2003. Dentist Don McLeroy, a conservative member of the State Board of Education, was unhappy with the 2003 11-4 vote to purchase biology textbooks that did not champion intelligent design. Afterwards, he is reported to have said to a church group,

How can the materialistic philosophic naturalistic base dependency of Darwinism be brought into the discussion and used for our benefit? We didn't use it. All we did was stay with evidence, and we got run over.

In July 2007, McLeroy was made chairman of the State Board of Education by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

The Washington Spectator suggests that the goal was to remove Comer prior to the meetings to revise the science standards component of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills document, which will influence the design of science textbooks nationwide. The Spectator conjectures that this opportunity will be used by intelligent design supporters to more aggressively press efforts to "teach the controversy", a Discovery Institute program to introduce creationism into the classroom and avoid legal jeopardy. Comer told the Spectator that since she was forced to resign, many teachers in rural Texas have contacted her to tell her that they are already being forced to teach creationism in Texas public school science classes.