The Board helps determine educational policy for the state's primary and secondary schools.

In 1999, the Board ruled that instruction about evolution, the age of the Earth, and the origin of the universe was permitted, but not mandatory, and that those topics would not appear on state standardized tests.

[3] However, the Board reversed this decision February 14, 2001, ruling that instruction of all those topics was mandatory and that they would appear on standardized tests.

[4] Then on August 9, 2005, the Board approved a draft of science curriculum standards that mandated equal time for the theories of "evolution" and "intelligent design".

But on February 13, 2007, the Board voted 6 to 4 to reject the amended science standards enacted in 2005.