WHEREAS: On 19 February 2008, the State Board of Education adopted new state Science Standards designed to improve the teaching of science in Florida; and WHEREAS: These revised standards, modified by the Department of Education, are the best available compromise to the standards proposed by the Framers and Writers and criticized by some commenters; and WHEREAS: Florida needs new science standards now; We, the signers of this petition, urge Speaker Marco Rubio of the Florida House of Representatives to reject any legislative intervention such as an academic freedom provision, which is already inherent in the Nature of Science benchmarks of the proposed standards, and instead encourage the support of Florida science teachers by affirming these standards and developing new resources for the teaching of science in Florida\'s public schools. {Author/sponsor note: Petition was delivered with 104 signatures on 5 March - I will continue to gather signatures and deliver new version in April or sooner; please check out and track HB 1483 and SB 2692! - Paul Ruscher/8 March 2008}