Christine Comer
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Christina Castillo Comer (born 1950) is the former Director of Science in the curriculum division of the
Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.
(TEA). Comer spent nine years as the Director of Science until she resigned on November 7, 2007. Comer's resignation has sparked controversy about agency politics and the debate to teach
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
in public schools versus creationism or
intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...
. Prior to her position at the TEA, Comer was a
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
science teacher with
San Antonio Independent School District San Antonio Independent School District is a school district based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. San Antonio ISD ranks is the 13th largest of Texas' 1,057 school districts. The District encompasses 79 square miles with a total population ...
.


Controversy over evolution

Comer was "forced out" of her TEA position following recommendations by TEA officials for "repeated acts of misconduct and insubordination", but Comer and others believe that she was targeted based on religious concerns and the teaching of creationism in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
public schools."State science curriculum director resigns"
, '' Austin American-Statesman'', November 29, 2007
On October 26, 2007,"Hey Science, Don't Mess with Texas"
Zach Marks, December 1, 2007, Huffington Post
Comer forwarded to a local online community an
email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...
message from the National Center for Science Education promoting a November 2, 2007, talk by
Barbara Forrest Barbara Carroll Forrest is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. She is a critic of intelligent design and the Discovery Institute. Biography Forrest is a graduate of Hammond High School. She re ...
in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. Forrest is a professor of philosophy at
Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...
who served as an expert witness in the
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ''Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District'', 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005) was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design ...
trial, the 2005 landmark
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
-
intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...
court battle in
Dover, Pennsylvania Dover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,953 at the 2020 census. History James Joner purchased in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover. It was known generally as Joners Town until 1815, when a Dover po ...
, and co-authored the book '' Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design''."Official Leaves Post as Texas Prepares to Debate Science Education Standards"
''The New York Times'', December 3, 2007
The call to fire Comer came from Lizzette Reynolds, deputy commissioner for statewide policy and programs. Reynolds, who has a degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and has no teaching experience, joined the TEA in January, 2007. Reynolds previously worked for a Texas state senator, as a
lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
, as deputy legislative director for former
Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, and in the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
. In an email to Comer's supervisors, Reynolds called the email "highly inappropriate" and "an offense that calls for termination or, at the very least, reassignment of responsibilities." Reynolds has subsequently backtracked, expressing her surprise over Comer's resignation to ''
The Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' international ...
''. Shortly after sending the email, Comer was placed on administrative leave. Agency official Monica Martinez cited the e-mail in a memo recommending her termination, stating, among other complaints, that "Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral." The TEA is scheduled to review, and possibly revise, its science curriculum in 2008. Some evolution proponents worry that politicization of the TEA may increase the influence of those lobbying for teaching of creationism and intelligent design. The issue is compounded by the recent appointment of Don McLeroy as chairman of the Texas State Board of Education. McLeroy has made past comments supporting the teaching of creationism and intelligent design.


Response

Newspaper editorial boards have been critical of the actions of TEA officials, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',"Evolution and Texas"
''The New York Times'', December 4, 2007
''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
'', '' Austin American-Statesman'',"Is misdeed a creation of political doctrine?"
, '' Austin American-Statesman'', December 1, 2007
''
Corpus Christi Caller-Times The ''Corpus Christi Caller-Times'' is the newspaper of record for Corpus Christi, Texas. History There has been a newspaper in Corpus Christi for almost as long as there has been a town. In 1883, the ''Caller'' was started in a frame building ...
'',"Official forced out for telling the truth on intelligent design"
''
Corpus Christi Caller-Times The ''Corpus Christi Caller-Times'' is the newspaper of record for Corpus Christi, Texas. History There has been a newspaper in Corpus Christi for almost as long as there has been a town. In 1883, the ''Caller'' was started in a frame building ...
'', December 4, 2007
''
Waco Tribune-Herald The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity. Background The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...
'',"John Young: Politicization of science"
, ''
Waco Tribune-Herald The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity. Background The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...
'', December 04, 2007
and '' Philadelphia Daily News''. and this event has garnered a fair amount of negative press coverage.
Eugenie Scott Eugenie Carol Scott (born October 24, 1945) is an American physical anthropologist, a former university professor and educator who has been active in opposing the teaching of young Earth creationism and intelligent design in schools. She coined t ...
of the National Center for Science Education stated that this event "underscores the politicization of science education in Texas".
University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering ...
professor
PZ Myers Paul Zachary Myers (born March 9, 1957) is an American biologist who founded and writes the ''Pharyngula'' science-blog. He is associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM)
wrote that it was surprising that Barbara Forrest's lecture should be viewed as improper for those interested in educating children appropriately. Steven Schafersman of the Texas Citizens for Science suggests that there was a change in policy at the TEA after the appointments of Don McLeroy as Chairman of the State Board of Education and Robert Scott as Commissioner of Education. Comer described the situation in a December 7, 2007, broadcast of ''
Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-wi ...
'' on
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. Comer stated that she has received support emails from teachers across Texas expressing that they have been pressured not to teach evolution."Former science director speaks up about losing her job"
December 7, 2007,
News 8 Austin Spectrum News 1 Austin (formerly Spectrum News Austin and Time Warner Cable News Austin) is an American cable news television channel owned by Charter Communications. The channel provides 24-hour rolling news coverage focused primarily on Centra ...
Over 100 Texas biology professors signed a letter on December 10, 2007 to Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott stating that TEA employees should not have to remain neutral on evolution."Letter from Texas University Biology Professors Defending Biological Evolution as a Central Pillar of Modern Science Education"
, December 10, 2007
Robert Scott hinted that there was more to the story, but he did not dare speak about it for fear of being sued. "I am really frustrated with the issue, knowing the truth and not being able to talk about it," Scott is reported as saying by the ''
Waco Tribune-Herald The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity. Background The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...
''. Scott told ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...
'' that, "You can be in favor of science without bashing people’s faith." ''The New York Times'' reports that Comer said in response that she wanted the commissioner to indicate where Comer was "bashing anyone’s faith". “He just doesn’t get it,” Comer opined.''Green Light for Institute on Creation in Texas''
Ralph Blumenthal, ''The New York Times'', December 19, 2007.
The Dallas Morning News drew attention to the possible role in the Comer case played by disappointment of conservative elements of the Texas community at the decision on textbook purchases in 2003. Dentist Don McLeroy, a conservative member of the State Board of Education, was unhappy with the 2003 11-4 vote to purchase biology textbooks that did not champion intelligent design. Afterwards, he is reported to have said to a church group, In July 2007, McLeroy was made chairman of the State Board of Education by Texas Governor Rick Perry. The ''Washington Spectator'' suggests that the goal was to remove Comer prior to the meetings to revise the science standards component of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills document, which will influence the design of science textbooks nationwide. The ''Spectator'' conjectures that this opportunity will be used by intelligent design supporters to more aggressively press efforts to "
teach the controversy The "teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (a variant of traditional creationism) as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in Uni ...
", a Discovery Institute program to introduce creationism into the classroom and avoid legal jeopardy. Comer told the ''Spectator'' that since she was forced to resign, many teachers in rural Texas have contacted her to tell her that they are already being forced to teach creationism in Texas public school science classes.


Lawsuit

In mid 2008, Comer filed a suit in federal court in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, that stated that the policy she was terminated for contravening (which required employees to be neutral on the subject of creationism) was unconstitutional, as the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that teaching creationism as science in public schools is illegal. Comer also stated in her complaint that she was fired without due process after serving as the state science director for nearly 10 years. Her lawsuit sought a court order overturning the neutrality policy on teaching creationism and declaring that her dismissal was illegal under the Constitution and her reinstatement. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on March 31, 2009. In August 2009, Comer appealed the dismissal decision to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...
(docket 09-50401). Appeal arguments were heard in April, 2010, and the court ruled on July 2, 2010, that the TEA's policy does not violate the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
's religious freedom clause because it does not advance or inhibit the practice of religion."Comer loses appeal"
NCSE, July 2, 2010Case: 09-50401
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, filed July 2, 2010


See also

*
Creation and evolution in public education The status of creation and evolution in public education has been the subject of substantial debate and conflict in legal, political, and religious circles. Globally, there is a wide variety of views on the topic. Most western countries have le ...


References


External links


Complaint
''Christina Castillo Comer v. Robert Scott and Texas Education Agency'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Corner, Christine Intelligent design controversies Living people American educators 1950 births