News In Brief

Texas board repeals curb on teaching of evolution

The Texas Board of Education on Saturday repealed a controversial rule that restricted the teaching of evolution. Without debate, the board formally repealed the 10-year-old rule that required references to evolution in textbooks to ''identify it as only one of several explanations of the origins of humankind.''

Critics of the rule have said it influenced the teaching of biology nationwide because the Texas textbook market is so large that publishers sometimes have to tailor texts to Texas needs.