Topeka ? The Senate Education Committee has introduced a bill that appears to allow the teaching of creationism in Kansas public schools.

But there probably won’t be a replay of the evolution vs. creationism controversies that gripped the state in recent years. The committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Dwayne Umbarger of Thayer, said Friday that the bill already was dead in the water.

“I expect we’re not going to have the time to run it,” Umbarger said of the bill. “We’re not going to have time to have hearings on the bill.”

He said the committee introduced the bill at the request of Republican Sen. Larry Salmans of Hanston, after being told it pertained to “academic freedom for teachers.”

The committee gave it a quick stamp of approval and moved on to other business, Umbarger said.

“It mentioned nothing about the origin of life,” Umbarger said.

“Not until later in the evening did I realize I’d been handed a hot potato,” he added.

Salmans was unavailable for comment.

But pro-science forces in the state said this week’s action was proof of the need to remain vigilant of pro-creationism efforts.

“They’ll never give up,” said Adrian Melott, a Kansas University physics and astronomy professor. “They believe they’re saving souls, and when you’re saving souls you can justify anything.”

But some conservatives indicated they weren’t prepared to make a stand this time.

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“In a general way, I’m in favor of teaching creation science and de-emphasizing evolution,” said Sen. Bob Lyon, R-Winchester, who had not seen the bill. “I don’t have any objection at all to moving legislatively. But the majority of the Senate may not feel that way, is my sense of things.”

Lawrence’s Jim Mullins, former president of the conservative Kansas Republican Assembly organization, said he’d rather take a close look at social studies curriculum.

“I don’t have a burning desire to see this fought,” he said of the evolution debate.

Senate Bill 168 does not explicitly mention “evolution” or “creation science.”

But it does require schools to “encourage the presentation of scientific evidence supporting the origins of life and its diversity, objectively and without religious, naturalistic or philosophic bias or assumption.”

And the bill would prohibit schools from punishing teachers who deviated from curriculum requirements.

Umbarger said the Senate wasn’t the place to debate evolution.

“Quite honestly, that’s an issue that, if it’s going to be dealt with, it should be dealt with at the State Board of Education,” Umbarger said.

That’s where the controversy started.

In 1999, a conservative majority on the board made international news by de-emphasizing evolution in Kansas public school science standards.

The conservative majority was overturned in the 2000 election, and in 2001 the new board restored evolution in the standards. The 2002 election, however, resulted in a 10-member board that is evenly split between conservatives and moderates.