New Mexico moves to defuse outrage over science standards

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's public education secretary says the state will adopt widely used school science standards in their entirety, with a half-dozen additions tied to local accomplishments in science and industry. Public Education Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski on Wednesday announced the department's final response to an outpouring of criticism over state-edited standards that deleted or omitted references to global warming, evolution and the age of the Earth. Ruszkowski said New Mexico will adopt the Next Generation Science Standards developed by a consortium of states and the National Academy of Sciences, and automatically incorporate future updates and amendments. New Mexico-specific additions to the standards have been paired back to six passages from some 35, also in response to public comments. One addition addresses the scientific role of the state's national nuclear weapons laboratories.