Boise (670 KBOI News) – On a 12-4 vote, the Idaho House Education Committee approved science standards for public schools, which do teach climate change, but leave it up to schools to decide how to teach it.

Twin Falls Representative Lance Clow says critics who accuse the Committee and the state in general of being “anti-science” are just plain wrong…

“The stands that were approved today include the study of climate, and we leave it up to teachers and school districts to determine how they do that,” said Clow.  “Somebody sent me a New York Times article this week, that says ‘The State of Idaho Removed Climate Change From the Standards”…and we did not do that.”

Clow says what was removed was the so-called “supporting content”, which he says isn’t part of the standards for other subjects, like history or social studies.

He says the standards are the “what” is to be taught, but the supporting content is the “how” it’s to be taught…and that should be left up to schools and school districts  to decide.