The Oklahoma state legislature dealt with proposed evolution textbook disclaimers twice during its 2003 session. House Bill 1504 would have required a disclaimer, similar to Alabama’s, which has been suggested several times in recent years before the Oklahoma Textbook Committee and the Legislature. HB 1504 was referred to the House Education Committee, but not considered further there, and died when the session adjourned.

On July 9, the Texas Board of Education held its first public hearing allowing the public to comment on biology textbooks proposed for adoption. Local papers reported attendance at over 200. Nearly all of the three dozen speakers defended the teaching of evolution against a report that disputed the accuracy of the treatment of evolution in the 11 biology texts being considered for adoption in Texas, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

June 19, 2003, is the 16th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Edwards v. Aguillard, which ruled that it is unconstitutional to require the teaching of "creation science" in the public schools.

On June 5 the South Carolina General Assembly adjourned its current session. Among the proposed bills killed by this action was S153, which had passed the Senate and was waiting for action in a House committee. As outlined in another story on this page, this bill would have established a 19-member "Science Standards Committee" to "(1) study science standards regarding the teaching of the origin of species; (2) determine whether there is a consensus on the definition of science; (3) determine whether alternatives to evolution as the origin of species should be offered in schools. "