So maybe it's not over. House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, who is often described as a likely future governor, told the Florida Baptist Witness in this story yesterday that the evolution battle "will go on for quite some time" and that the House "may have sufficient votes" to act on an academic freedom proposal being pushed by religious conservatives.

Here is an excerpt from the Witness, which has scored a couple of scoops in covering the evolution story: "The 'crux' of the disagreement, according to Rubio, is 'whether what a parent teachers their children at home should be mocked and derided  and undone at the public school level. It goes to the fundamental core of who is ultimately, primarily responsible for the upbringing of children. Is it your public education system or is it your parents?' "

Rubio's comments follow Tuesday's vote by the Board of Education to adopt new science standards that embrace evolution, though with compromise language that describes evolution as a "scientific theory." In this letter
sent to the board that day – apparently before the vote - Rubio and four other lawmakers indicated they were happy with that change.

Board members discussed the academic freedom proposal but did not take action. As circulated by opponents, it would have changed the science standards to say evolution was "a fundamental concept underlying all of biology" rather than "the fundamental concept" (our emphasis added) and would have included language allowing teachers to "engage students in a critical analysis" of the evidence supporting evolution.

Supporters suggest the academic freedom idea originated with the Discovery Institute, the Seattle-based outfit best known for its advocacy of intelligent design. In the aftermath of Tuesday's vote, the institute posted this critique: "Sadly, the proposed Florida science standards stifle will free inquiry because they too censor any real scientific challenges to evolution. Change is now necessary if Florida teachers are to be given the academic freedom to inform students about scientists who dissent from evolution."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter