Topeka ? Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial, State Board of Education members plan to hear arguments over whether they should add criticism of evolution to Kansas’ science standards.

The board’s subcommittee on science standards agreed Monday to have six days of hearings in May in Topeka. The subcommittee members, concerned that the hearings might be compared to the 1925 trial of high school science teacher John Scopes in Dayton, Tenn., said they weren’t putting evolution on trial. Scopes was tried for telling students about the theory.

“That was a trial; these are hearings,” said Board Chairman Steve Abrams, of Arkansas City. “I hope we have a greater understanding of each other’s positions.”

The subcommittee members are Abrams; Kathy Martin, of Clay Center; and Connie Morris, of St. Francis, all Republicans, and half of six conservatives holding a majority on the 10-member board. Later this year, the board expects to consider changes in the science standards, which currently describe evolution as a key concept for students to learn.

The three board members tentatively set their hearings for May 5-7 and 12-14, with the exact times and place to be determined. During the hearings, only scientists will testify, according to the subcommittee. The scientists will include experts on evolution and proponents of other ideas about the origins of life.

The board members also picked a theme, from a 2001 congressional report on the federal No Child Left Behind education reform law that says science should be open to alternative theories when there are controversies.

“We’re trying to get to the bottom of a great controversy,” Abrams said.

Harry McDonald, president of Kansas Citizens for Science and a retired Olathe science teacher, described the hearings as a “farce” and “fiasco.”