After reading the "more serious" article, one particular line stood out.
For example, Baxley said this bill would prevent an astronomy professor from
telling students they shouldn't believe in God because the universe was
created through the big-bang theory, not a divine entity.
This is a bit of inflammatory rhetoric on the part of the bill sponsor. I
do not know of any science instructors who would say such a thing. They
might however say that there is no evidence for the literal biblical account
of creation, and that the students have to understand and answer questions
about the big bang theory. Would this be disrespecting student beliefs?
They might even go so far as to tell students their personal belief, but I
have never encountered a professor who insisted that their personal belief
had to be espoused by the students. I did encounter a HS history teacher
who presented a very unbalanced account of some Christian liberal theology.
I suspect that if he had reflected on his statements he might have realized
they were biased. He was actually an excellent teacher in the 50s.
OTOH the obvious subtext is "belief in evolution".
The bill sponsor also said that this is an attempt to balance the teachings
of leftist professors. In other words if they can't compete in the
marketplace of ideas they will legislate against the unwanted ideas.
The Palm Beach Post article appeared to be more balanced than strictly pro.
It presented statements from both sides of the argument. It also stated
there were no penalties, but once the bill is enacted, would the
universities set up their own tacit standards with penalties?