Lauren

THE BACKGROUND Kitzmiller vs. Dover School Board is a case rooted in the different opinions of the Dover School Board members and the science department as well as parents of Dover in Dover, Pennsylvania. Bill Buckingham in addition to other school board members wanted to spend equal time in the science classroom for creationism and evolution. However, this violates the 1987 Supreme Court ruling that creationism in the classroom violates the separation of Church and State (1). With this in mind, Bill Buckingham lead other school board members into a debate on the authenticity of Darwin's ideals and the possibility of other theories. When equal time for creationism and evolution was not allowed, Bill Buckingham went in search for a new bio book that did not contain only Darwin's theory of evolution (3). The solution was //Of Pandas and People// being cotaught with the current textbook. The science textbooks were anonymously donated to the school. The science teachers were also told to read a passage written by the school board discussing that there are other theories besides Darwin. When the science teachers refused to read the passage saying that it went against science teachings and beliefs, a board member came into the biology class and read the passage to the students. The science teachers as well as several parents were outraged with the incident. Soon, the controversy lead to the trial: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (1).

THE TRIAL The Dover School Board was represented by the Thomas More Law Center went up against TAmmy Kitzmiller. Judge Jones resided over the case. The trial began on September 26, 2005 (3). The question begining argued in the court room centered around, "What is science and what qualifies as science?" The plaintiffs went out to prove that the school board members took Intelligent Design as a replacement form of teaching for creationism. Some of the witnesses included Kenneth R. Miller, the author of the original biology book, Dover science teachers, Tammy Kitzmiller, experts on Intelligent Design, David DeRosier, who spoke of the human-like design of the flagellum motor. During the trial, scientist expressed the meaning of science theory and the need for repeated testing. Others worked to The trial ended on November 4, 2005 with closing arguments and final remarks from the court (1). Judge Jones came back with a verdict on December 20, 2005. He ruled that the Dover School District went against the constitutional rights of the students in regards to the separation Church and State (3).

1. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/307/5709/505 2. http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/2437/dover.html 3. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/kitzmiller_v_dover.html