A Fairness Doctrine for Education

Conservative lawmakers in Florida are pushing for a state law mandating a "fair and balanced" curriculum in state colleges. The House Education and Innovation Committee has already passed a bill that would allow students to demand their beliefs be taught in classes. If they aren't, students could sue. Supporters say the bill will protect conservative students from being indoctrinated by liberal professors. Critics say that will mean biology classes would have to give time to creationism, and classes on the Holocaust would have to present the theories of Holocaust deniers. Sponsors of the bill don't seem to be doing a very good job of dispelling those claims. Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) cited as an example of how conservatives are persecuted by left-wing faculty his first day in a college anthropology class, when the instructor allegedly told him: "Evolution is a fact. There's no missing link. I don't want to hear any talk about intelligent design and if you don't like that, there's the door."