Professor Directed by Florida State Government to Make Changes in Science Textbooks

In 2024, biology professor emeritus at Brown University and textbook author Ken Miller reported being instructed by Florida state officials to remove certain references to “climate change” from his biology textbook. The textbook was co-authored by Miller and Joseph Levine, and published by Savvas. The publisher has released a series of “special issues” of the textbook, which are tailored to meet different states’ science education standards. The co-authors submitted a new Florida edition of the textbook for the 2024-25 academic year. Florida state officials contacted the publisher, requesting that the authors “add citations defending statements that ‘human activity’ caused climate change and . . . remove a ‘political statement’ suggesting legislative action to halt climate change.”

Sydney Booker, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, stated “Florida works with publishers to ensure that their product aligns with our standards and does not include any form of ideology or indoctrination.”