WBRZ - Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE- A panel of the state education board has approved new biology textbooks for Louisiana high school students.

That clears the way for the entire Louisiana Board of Secondary and Elementary Education or BESE to vote on final approval Thursday.

A committee made up of teachers and parents spent several months reviewing the textbooks before today's vote.

Leaders from the Louisiana Family Forum urged the panel to reject or delay approval of the new textbooks. They say the books do not meet the standards of the Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008, and important information on things like evolution, origins of life, human induced global warming and human cloning are omitted.

People supporting the new books say critics only want creationism added to classroom discussions. They say the new textbooks are vital to keeping Louisiana public school students up to speed with students in other states.

Local school districts still have the right to choose their own textbooks regardless of the BESE vote.