The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday denied certiorari [order list, PDF] in a case brought by Citizens for Objective Public Education (COPE) [advocacy website] against science education policies adopted by the Kansas State Board of Education [official website]. COPE alleged that the teaching of scientific evolution and other natural explanations communicates a religious preference and would result in anti-religious instruction. In April, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed [opinion, PDF] a 2014 ruling from the US District Court for the District of Kansas [official website] dismissing the case due to lack of standing because COPE failed to show that they had an injury in fact. With the Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case, the Tenth Circuit dismissal of the case stands. COPE originally filed [JURIST report] the lawsuit in September 2013.

This is not the first time the Kansas Board of Education has seen controversy regarding its fluctuating scientific standards. In 2007 the Board repealed [NBC report] science guidelines that questioned the accuracy of evolution. This act removed language adopted in 2005, requiring [JURIST report] that students understand not only evolution, but also suggestions that life is too complex to have evolved without help from a higher power. In 1987 the US Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard [opinion] that states may not mandate public schools to teach creationism in order to balance evolution lessons.