My summary and intepretation of the article:
The recent passage of the Science Education Act in Lousiana's legislature poses a threat to the teaching of evolution in schools in the state, and similar acts being proposed in other states mean it is a national issue.
The bill proposes that the merits of scientific ideas can be discussed in the science classroom. While such action is usually encouraged to promote freedom of thought, in this case the wording of the bill and the statements of its supporters prove a different intention: to make evolution and other topics appear controversial or unproven and then introduce unscientific, untestable ideas like creationism ("intelligent design") through the use of unregulated textbooks that are effectively biased and do not use scientific principles.
The adoption of the bill and its chance of being adopted elsewhere will in practice mean that proven, verifiable and key science like evolution, global warming and other ideas will be replaced by religiously-inspired and unscientific ideas. In my opinion, this is a threat to the integrity of US science education.
Extract from linked article:
"WHAT THE LAW SAYS:
The state... shall allow and assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment... that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied, including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning. (Section 1B)
WHAT OPPONENTS FEAR:
Any Louisiana school official is now free to present evolution and other targeted topics as matters of debate rather than broadly accepted science. Books and other materials that support this view can be used in class alongside standard science texts. The onus will be on parents to spot violations of the rules on separation of church and state."
