The chorus of support for the teaching of evolution continues, with a statement from the American Federation of Teachers, adopted in 2014.
In its statement, the AFT observes that "biological evolution is a fundamental underpinning of modern biological thought and research and is not the subject of controversy among scientists ... [but] the unfettered teaching of evolution in public schools has been under attack since the early part of the 20th century and before." Now in the twenty-first century, "a strategy to teach creationism, intelligent design[,] or evolution denial into public science classrooms has emerged with the passage of laws intended to teach these theories as science under the guise of protecting academic freedom in the classroom"; Louisiana and Tennessee are cited as cases in point.
Invoking the expertise of the American Association of University Professors and NCSE, the statement concludes by affirming that "the American Federation of Teachers encourages and expects science teachers, in presenting evolution and other topics, to understand, respect[,] and communicate the consensus of the scientific community, in order to present the science curriculum effectively to their students" and that "the AFT will be on alert for, and opposed to, bills at the state or federal level that attempt to use the guise of academic freedom as a means of introducing creationism, intelligent design[,] or evolution denial into science classrooms."
The AFT's statement is now reproduced, by permission, on NCSE's website, and will also be contained in the fourth edition of NCSE's Voices for Evolution.