When John Freshwater, who taught eighth-grade science in Mount Vernon, Ohio, was fired in 2011, it was in part because he was presenting to his students what he described as evidence for and against evolution—which was, in fact, creationist propaganda. In doing so, he flouted not only the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution but also the directives of his district administration and the guidance of professional organizations such as the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). The NABT rightly describes evolution as “a necessary part of teaching biology” that “should be a major theme throughout the life science curriculum,” while rejecting calls for creationism to be presented as part of the science curriculum.

It would be comforting to think that the Mount Vernon situation was a rare aberration—especially because middle school science teachers play a huge, though often unappreciated, role in evolution education. Although typically presented...

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