Three former state university presidents – Betty Castor at USF and Stanley Marshall and Sandy D'Alemberte at FSU – are among more than 1,700 people who have signed a petition urging the state Board of Education to adopt the proposed new science standards, the Gradebook has learned. University of Miami President Donna Shalala (left) has also signed today.

Circulated by Florida Citizens for Science, the petition says, "The revised standards address the scientific theory of evolution without equivocation or the introduction of non-scientific notions. … Students must understand the current state of the science to be part of an informed citizenry." To see it in full, click here.

Among other notable signers: E.T. York, a former interim president at UF and former chancellor of the state university system; Sir Harry Kroto, FSU chemist and Nobel Prize winner; and Greg Boebinger, director of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is jointly run by UF and FSU.

- Ron Matus, state education writer