The Louisiana Science Education Act, signed into law on June 28, 2008, opens the doors for treating Intelligent Design and Creationism as a theory to be examined in the classroom setting. An in-depth article in a recent New Scientist explores the details and implications.

Resources about this long-running debate over evolution (with modern twists):

NOVA: Judgment Day – Intelligent Design On Trial
Full episode watchable online. This documentary follows the trial of Kitzmiller v. Dover, which tested the validity of Intelligent Design as a theory.

NOW (with Bill Moyers, from 2004)
Episode materials from The Battle over Evolution episode.

NewsHour
In February 2008, Florida schools also opened up a loophole that allows Intelligent Design in the classroom, similar to the Louisiana ruling.

The Louisiana Science Education Act:

relevant clause:
“The state… shall allow and assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment… that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied, including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” (Section 1B)

What the opposition fears from the law:
That evolution will be presented as a debated theory rather than as science. Also that creationism or ‘intelligent design’ and other ideas that are religious in origin would be given equal weight. The onus will be on parents to spot violations of the rules on separation of church and state.

addendum: information about the Kitzmiller v. Dover lawsuit in Dover, Pennsyvlania about the textbook “Of Pandas And People”.