Cathryn Creno

The Arizona Republic

GILBERT, Ariz. — School district staff here will "edit" a high-school honors biology textbook after board members agreed that it does not align with state regulations on how abortion is to be presented to public-school students.

Gilbert Public Schools board members, backed by a conservative religious group, voted 3-2 to make the change, arguing that they are complying with a 2-year-old state law that requires public schools to "present childbirth and adoption as preferred options to elective abortion."

"Since the change in this law was relatively recent, we are likely the first school board to proactively ensure that the legislative intent is being enforced," board President Staci Burk said Wednesday.

The book in question, Campbell Biology: Concepts & Connections (Seventh Edition), has a chapter that discusses abstinence, birth-control methods, tubal ligations and vasectomies and drugs that can induce abortion.

Textbooks are selected at the local level in Arizona. No government agency tracks how many districts are using books such as Campbell Biology.

But the book is considered mainstream. It is available on textbook websites as well general book sites such as barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.

Board members did not give district staff specific instructions on how to change the book. They requested that editing plans be presented at a future meeting.

State Sens. Nancy Barto of Phoenix, Andy Biggs of Gilbert and David Farnsworth of Mesa — all Republicans — attended the meeting in this Phoenix suburb of 230,000. Barto, a champion of the textbook law, urged board members to follow it to the letter.

The board made its decision after listening to a presentation from Natalie Decker, a lawyer for Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom. The advocacy group brought the chapter to board members' attention.

The group also has advocated to keep Arizona's ban on same-sex marriage, which was overturned earlier this month.

"The (textbook) law is not limited to books in sex-education classes," Decker said. "It applies any time a mention of abortion is included in instruction. This is not an ambiguous law."

Decker did not recommend a way to change the book but said it could be redacted or have additional information pasted in.

"The cheapest, least disruptive way to solve the problem is to remove the page," board member Daryl Colvin said.

Before the meeting, board members and Superintendent Christina Kishimoto received opinions from the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Chris Kotterman, the Education Department deputy associate superintendent for policy development and government relations, said in an e-mail that he reviewed the book at the request of the district and found that it "does not appear on its face to violate the statute.

"In general, the mere mention of a means of medically inducing abortion does not automatically signal a lack of preference for childbirth and adoption ... the responsibility lies with the teacher to provide context for the student," he said.

Meanwhile a letter from Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona urged the board not to change the book. Doing so would violate students' First Amendment rights, she said.

"Suppressing facts that some people or organizations find disagreeable sets a terrible precedent," she said.

Burk, Colvin and Julie Smith voted for the change. Members Jill Humphreys and Lily Tram voted no.

The vote occurred in a packed gallery. When asked how many audience members were there for a change to the biology textbook, about two-thirds stood up to show support.

Resident Amy Higgins said she has seven children, but all are home-schooled or in private schools because she objected to a video once shown in a Gilbert classroom.

"When parents do not feel good about a curriculum being taught, they look for other options," Higgins said.

Two in the audience voiced objections, including resident Steve Hillman, who said he believes that the Alliance Defending Freedom "preaches a vile message of intolerance."

"This is a group that has no place trying to influence anything in the Gilbert Public Schools district," Hillman said.