Interactive Map: Voucher Schools Teaching Creationism

March 1, 2013

by John Light

This week on Moyers & Company, 19-year-old education activist Zack Kopplin joins Bill to talk about his campaign to get creationism out of science classes in publicly funded schools. He discovered that students attending private and parochial schools in states with school voucher programs were taught creationism in addition to — or, in some classrooms, instead of — the theory of evolution.

Using data* compiled by Kopplin, this map shows private schools that accept state vouchers and teach creationism. Hover over each dot to read Kopplin’s findings on that school. To zoom in, double click on the map or use the map tools that appear in the upper left corner.

* Note: Arizona opens its voucher program to all private institutions, but does not release a list of schools that choose to participate. On this map, Arizona schools that teach creationism are marked to indicate that they are likely receiving taxpayer money through vouchers, but the state has not confirmed that they are. All research by Zack Kopplin, Creationist Voucher database

Kopplin identified many of the schools in this map by the science textbooks they use to teach their students. Among them are books by the publishers Accelerated Christian Education (ACE), A Beka, Bob Jones University Press, Apologia, Purposeful Design, Concordia, Alpha Omega,Landmark’s Freedom Baptist Curriculum, Christian Schools International (CSI) and The Foundation for American Christian Education (FACE).

Last fall, a Louisiana state judge ruled that public funding for private religious schools is unconstitutional, but the decision is under appeal and vouchers continue to help students pay for private religious schools in that state and in several others.