SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - Much like President Trump, Pierre legislator Jeff Monroe says the media has it all wrong when it comes to his "scientific teaching" legislation.
Monroe's bill says "no teacher may be prohibited from helping students understand, analyze, critique or review in an objective scientific manner the strengths and weaknesses of scientific information presented in courses being taught which are aligned with the content standards."
Monroe defended the measure at a legislative coffee in Pierre over the weekend, reiterating that the media has it all wrong.
He says the drumbeat that the media has whipped up is that all of a sudden teachers are going to start spraying new theories into their curriculum. He says "you can't put anything into a curriculum."
Monroe says different scientific theories can't go into the South Dakota Board of Education content standards through the legislature. He says "this baloney that you're seeing in the press, day after day, after day, after day; they're red herrings, it's deflecting."
Monroe claims the bill is needed because some teachers are frustrated that they can't teach possible weaknesses in scientific theories.
He says there are teachers telling him that it drives them crazy that they can only teach that global warming is happening. He says it's been relabeled to climate change. He says some are frustrated because they're not allowed to teach that "there might be a little bit of a weakness in this theory."
Senate Bill 55 will come up for debate in front of the House Education Committee early Wednesday morning. It's gone through the State Senate.