Science Institute Releases Documents in Texas Academic Freedom Case

Contact: Lawrence Ford, Institute for Creation Research (ICRGS), 800-337-0375

DALLAS, May 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- Administration officials at the Graduate School of the Institute for Creation Research (ICRGS), a California-based institution, have released documents pertaining to its application to grant degrees in the state of Texas where it has sought to move its academic offices.

On March 26, 2008, the ICRGS submitted documents to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in Austin, Texas in response to a request to provide institutional documentation that describes the Master of Science in Science Education program offered by the school.

On April 24, 2008, THECB Commissioner Raymund Paredes and his board voted to deny the ICRGS authority to grant the M.S. degree in Science Education. Dr. Paredes read into the record his recommendation at a committee meeting the day before, expressing his belief that the ICRGS promoted a viewpoint different from perceived science standards in the state, based on his non-public consultations with yet-to-be-identified science educators.

Because of the choice of the THECB to withhold from the public the ICRGS documents—documents that demonstrate that the ICRGS does indeed meet and, in some cases, exceeds state educational standards—the ICRGS is making the entire document available to the public.

It will become clear to careful readers 1) that the ICRGS M.S. program is both a demanding and rigorous academic offering to Texas students desiring to be equipped in major disciplines of science and in the practical aspects of teaching science to others, and 2) that the THECB, and its advisers, failed to properly evaluate the ICRGS program based on educational and academic standards, as expressed in the documents, preferring rather to penalize the ICRGS program because of differences in viewpoint regarding how and why ICRGS teaches science and science education.

The importance of ICRGS' institutional viewpoint of creationism, as an example of academic freedom, was explained at the April 23 committee meeting by Dr. Eddy Miller, Dean and Chief Academic Officer of the ICRGS, who flew from California with other faculty members to attend and participate in the THECB proceedings.

Because of the decision by THECB Commissioner Raymund Paredes and the THECB Board, the state of Texas is denying a full-range of educational offerings to Texas residents in the area of science education, and in doing so, is failing to "close the gaps" in higher education.

The institutional documents released by the ICRGS are available on the institute's website.