Court rejects anti-evolution disclaimers in Ga. textbooks.

The Religious Right crusade to promote religion in public school science curricula was dealt a setback recently when a federal court ruled unconstitutional the use of textbook disclaimers about evolution.

On Jan. 13, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper Judge Clarence Cooper (born May 5, 1942 in Decatur, Georgia) is a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia of the Federal Judiciary of the United States He was appointed to this seat on May 9, 1994 by President Bill Clinton. ordered the Cobb County, school district in Georgia to remove stickers that state, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

Cooper held that "an informed, reasonable observer would interpret the Sticker to convey a message of endorsement of religion."

The judge's 44-page opinion in Selman v. Cobb County School District Selman v. Cobb County School District was a 2005 American court case in Cobb County, Georgia involving a creationist sticker placed in textbooks. The disclaimer read:

This textbook contains material on evolution. noted that Marjorie Rogers, a parent of a district student who described herself "as a six-day biblical creationist," led the drive for the textbook disclaimers.

In 2002 after the school board adopted the stickers, six school district parents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Georgia, sued arguing that the disclaimers violated the separation of church and state

See also: .

Separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine which states that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another. .

Maggie Garrett, a Georgia ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. attorney (and former Americans United staff attorney), lauded Cooper's ruling.

On Jan. 17, the Cobb County School Board voted 5-2 to appeal Cooper's ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Title Annotation:	Around The States
Publication:	Church & State
Article Type:	Brief Article
Geographic Code:	1USA
Date:	Mar 1, 2005
Words:	212
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Topics:	Religious right Cases Religious Right (American politics) Cases Science education Cases Curricula Laws, regulations and rules Sciences education Cases Curricula Laws, regulations and rules

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