In March 2024, the Maine legislature rejected a proposal to revise the state’s science standards to include teachings about genocide, eugenics, and the Holocaust. This decision came after a unanimous recommendation from the House Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs issued in March.
The proposed revisions aimed to incorporate teachings on evolution and heredity into science standards, arguing that misinterpretations of “fossil observations” and “the ideas of natural selection and artificial selection” led to false ideas of human hierarchies and racial inequality, resulting in atrocities such as the Holocaust, Rwandan genocide, and mistreatment of indigenous people in Maine.
However, concerns were raised by some organizations such as the Maine Science Teachers Association and professors from Bowdoin College. They argued that civics and social studies programming would be better suited for delivering this content rather than incorporating it into science standards.
During a meeting on March 7th, 2024, the House Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs amended the bill by inserting “not” before “authorized” in the section discussing science standards. The committee then voted 12-0 to recommend the amended bill to the legislature.
