Professor explains the changes to science textbooks ordered by the state of Florida

Ken Miller, a science textbook author and professor emeritus of biology at Brown University, said Friday that some references to “climate change” had been removed from his textbook used in Florida public schools.

Miller, who co-authored several biology textbooks with Joseph Levine, told the Orlando Sentinel in an article published Friday, it said its publisher received calls from state officials last month informing them of state-mandated changes. Those changes required the removal of some references to “climate change” and the removal of the term from middle-school science books.

According to Savvas Publishing, which also publishes the nationally used Miller and Levine high school biology textbooks, a 90-page section on the subject was to be removed from a high school chemistry textbook.

“For certain states like Florida and Texas, we write special editions that closely correlate with their unique scientific standards,” Miller said Newsweek in an email Saturday afternoon. “We have already submitted our new Florida edition for 2023 and school districts are reviewing it for adoption and use in the 2024-25 school year, which begins in a few weeks.”

A second author, who wished to remain anonymous and Newsweek not independently identified, submitted a report similar to Miller’s to the ^ “Orlando Sentinel: The Wonderful World of Madness”. The anonymous author said state authorities had asked publishers to remove “extraneous information” not listed in state standards, adding: “They demanded the removal of phrases such as ‘climate change.'”

Miller’s high school biology textbook was forced to add quotes defending the claim that climate change was caused by “human activities” and remove a “political statement” that suggested legislative action to curb climate change, the newspaper said.

Climate change is a politically charged issue, with many members of the Republican Party denying its existence while others work to block legislation to curb climate change, such as incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill (HB 1645) proposed by the Republican-led legislature that removed the term “climate change” from several Florida laws. It went into effect on July 1. The bill does not directly address state education and science standards, but rather signals that combating climate change is not a state priority.

However, according to the final analysis of the Florida House of Representatives, it “removes a provision that would require the recognition and consideration of the ‘potential of global climate change’ as a state energy policy” and instead promotes the “cost-effective development and use of a diverse supply of domestic energy resources in the state.”

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis’ press office and the Florida Department of Education (DOE) via email on Saturday for comment and confirmation.

DeSantis has come under fire from liberal activists for various book bans and censorship incidents in Florida public schools. In April, PEN America, an organization that fights against book bans, released a report saying that “Florida had the highest number of ban cases, with 3,135 bans in 11 school districts.”

In February, the governor’s office said in a press release that the state “is not banning books, but has instead given parents the authority to object to obscene material in the classroom.”

Updated and corrected on 07/06/24 at 6:07 PM ET: This article was updated with commentary from Miller and corrected to clarify that the chemistry textbook was not Miller’s.