On 1 May the committee voted, 9 to 5, for a resolution calling on schools to "reject the core concepts of Darwinist ideology that certain races and classes of humans are inherently superior to others," and noting that such ideas provided excuses for the likes of Adolf Hitler. Scientists and educators promptly jumped on the statement as an unusual but unmistakable attack on the teaching of evolution.

The resolution's sponsor, Sharon Weston Broome (D- Baton Rouge), said she didn't want to throw evolution out of the classroom but just wanted people to be warned about Darwin's unsavory side. Two scientists testified against the resolution, pointing out that Darwin was an ardent foe of slavery. In response, Broome evoked Harvard biologist Stephen J. Gould, to the effect that "biological arguments for racism ... increased by orders of magnitude following acceptance of evolutionary theory."

Darwin won this round--the House instead passed a simple antiracism resolution. But Eric Meikle of the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, California, says Louisiana still bears watching: Lawmakers are also considering a measure that would prohibit the state government from "printing or distributing material that contains information that has been proven to be false or fraudulent." "The language parallels that used in attacks on evolution textbooks elsewhere," says Meikle.