Ken Miller, a science textbook author and a professor emeritus of biology at Brown University, said on Friday that some references to "climate change" were removed from his educational book that is used in Florida public schools.
Miller, the co-author of several biology textbooks with Joseph Levine, told the Orlando Sentinel in article published Friday that his publisher received phone calls last month from state officials informing them of state-directed changes. These changes required the removal of some references to "climate change" and the term was removed from middle school science books.
According to the publisher Savvas, which also publishes the Miller and Levine high school biology textbooks used nationwide, a high school chemistry book was to remove a 90-page section on the topic.
"For certain states, such as Florida and Texas, we write special editions closely correlated to their unique science standards," Miller told Newsweek in an email on Saturday afternoon. "We submitted our new Florida edition back in 2023 and school districts have been evaluating it for adoption and use in the 2024-25 school year, which begins in a few weeks."
A second author, who requested anonymity and who Newsweek has not independently identified, relayed a similar account as Miller's to the Orlando Sentinel. The anonymous author said state officials wanted publishers to remove "extraneous information" not listed in state standards, adding, "They asked to take out phrases such as climate change."
Miller's high school biology textbook was required to add citations defending statements that "human activity" caused climate change and to remove a "political statement" suggesting legislative action to halt climate change, according to the newspaper.
Climate change is a politically charged topic, with many members of the GOP denying its existence and others working to halt legislation to curb climate change, such as incentivizing reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation (HB 1645) proposed by the Republican-led Legislature that removed the phrase "climate change" from several Florida laws. It went into effect on July 1. The bill does not directly address state education and science standards, but instead signals that addressing climate change is not a state priority.
It does, however, according to the Florida House of Representatives Staff final bill analysis, "remove a provision that provides for recognizing and addressing 'the potential of global climate change' as a state energy policy," and instead promotes "cost-effective development and use of a diverse supply of domestic energy resources in the state."
Sydney Booker, the Florida Department of Education communications director, told Newsweek in an email Sunday night: "Florida has set a high bar for education, with some of the most rigorous educational standards in the nation. This is why Florida has ranked number one for education two years in a row," in reference to the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
"In order for instructional materials to be used in Florida classrooms, they must align to our high-quality standards, State Board rule and Florida law. As such, Florida works with publishers to ensure that their product aligns with our standards and does not include any form of ideology or indoctrination," Booker said.
Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis' press office for comment and confirmation via email on Saturday.
DeSantis has come under fire from liberal activists over various book banning and censorship incidents in Florida public schools. In April, PEN America, an organization that fights book bans, issued a report sharing that "Florida experienced the highest number of ban cases, with 3,135 bans across 11 school districts."
In February, the governor's office said in a press release that the state "does not ban books, instead, the state has empowered parents to object to obscene material in the classroom."
Update and correction 7/6/24, 6:07 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Miller and corrected to clarify the chemistry textbook was not Miller's.
Update 7/10/24, 9:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include Booker's comment.
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Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Connecticut and Brooklyn. She joined Newsweek as a reporter in 2024. She ... Read more
