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Texas official resigns, cites creationism conflict

USA Today

2007-12-02

The state's director of science curriculum said she resigned this month under pressure from officials who felt she gave the appearance of criticizing the instruction of intelligent design.

The Texas Education Agency put Chris Comer on 30 days paid administrative leave in late October, resulting in what she described as a forced resignation.

The move came shortly after Comer forwarded an e-mail announcing a presentation being given by the author of Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse. In the book, author Barbara Forrest says creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools. Comer sent the e-mail to several individuals and a few online communities.

Comer, who held her position for nine years, said she believes evolution politics were behind her ousting.

"None of the other reasons they gave are, in and of themselves, firing offenses," she said.

TEA officials declined to comment Wednesday on the personnel matter, but they explained their recommendation to fire Comer in documents obtained by the Austin American-Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act.

"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 officials said.

Next year, the State Board of Education begins a review of the state science curriculum, which will set standards for classroom instruction and textbook selection.

The TEA documents show agency officials recommended firing Comer for repeated acts of misconduct and insubordination.

The officials said forwarding the e-mail conflicted with Comer's job responsibilities. The e-mail also violated a directive for her not to communicate with anyone outside the agency regarding the upcoming science curriculum review, officials said in the documents.

The memo condemns Comer for giving a presentation and attending an off-site meeting without prior approval and for allegedly saying that then-acting Commissioner Robert Scott was "only acting commissioner and that there was no real leadership at the agency."

Comer said she doesn't remember saying the comments about Scott, who has since been appointed commissioner.

"But even if I did, is that so horrible?" she said. "He was, after all, acting commissioner at the time."

She also said other employees don't report off-site activities.

Comer said she paused for a moment before forwarding the Forrest e-mail, but she felt sending it was OK because of Forrest's credentials.

The documents show that Lizzette Reynolds, the agency's senior adviser on statewide initiatives, started the push to fire Comer over the e-mail.

"This is something that the State Board, the Governor's Office and members of the Legislature would be extremely upset to see because it assumes this is a subject that the agency supports," Reynolds said in an e-mail to Comer's supervisors.

Reynolds joined the agency in January and previously worked in the U.S. Department of Education and as a deputy legislative director during George W. Bush's term as governor.

Advocacy groups said the action against Comer was troubling.

"This just underscores the politicization of science education in Texas," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education. "In most states, the department of education takes a leadership role in fostering sound science education. Apparently TEA employees are supposed to be kept in the closet and only let out to do the bidding of the board."

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