Board Chairman Linda Holloway, who led the Board when it voted last year to downplay evolution in the state's science education standards lost by a large margin in the Republican primary in the state's 2nd district. Mo. Moderate challengers were also winning also in districts including Salina and Wichita. In Wichita the moderate beat the conservative incumbent, while in Salina a moderate candidate was winning over a conservative, but the incumbent conservative was not up for re-election because he had moved out of state prior to the election. Only in the Arkansas City area of far south Kansas was the conservative incumbent winning, and in that case by a decisive margin. Her proposal has support from Arizona House Speaker Jeff Groscost, another Mesa Republican.
Critics call it an attempt to sneak creationism into schools.
Johnson's bill does not mention creationism. Here's a 16 January editorial by the Arizona Daily Star critical of Rep. Johnson's proposal. On Jan 27th members of the Arizona House Committee on Federal Mandates and States' Rights voted 4-2 to require schools that teach students about evolution to also present the scientific evidence against that theory. The bill now goes to the full House for debate. Here's a link coverage of the Committee hearing as reported in the 28 January Arizona Daily Star .