Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Cobb County Mediation Ordered
A suburban Atlanta school district under fire for placing evolution disclaimers in biology texts is expected to enter into mediation talks with the parents who have sued them.
Cobb County School District officials are expected March 1 to meet the parents, their attorneys and an official from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' mediation office, said Gerry Weber, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.
Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper ordered the district to remove the stickers that called evolution "a theory, not a fact" from science textbooks. Six parents previously sued the district to have the stickers removed. The school board then voted to appeal Cooper's order last month. The school district also requested a stay from the judge's order that the disclaimers be removed
immediately."We're always open to hearing the mediator's ideas for how to resolve a case," Weber said. "We will certainly keep an open mind but we know the school district has already expressed skepticism over the process of mediation. It may be difficult to resolve anything."
