A draft bill challenging the way evolution is taught in Utah public schools makes no mention of so-called "intelligent design," a concept a federal judge this week ruled unconstitutional.

The proposal from Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan — which he stresses could change before it is finalized for public release — aims to halt teachers from telling students they evolved from apes, Buttars said.

"It doesn't hinder them about talking about evolution at all," Buttars said. "They can talk about evolution from the Big Bang or life crawled out of the slime somewhere. But what they can't do is . . . tell students, 'This is how it happened, how you became man, you evolved from an ape.' That is all I asked the State Board of Education to do in the first place, and they thumbed their noses at me.

"You don't know how life began; nobody does in the scientific community," Buttars said. "Therefore, you can only teach these things as theories. It's a small step, but it's a big step, and I can pass this bill."

But a Utah Office of Education attorney and the state curriculum boss say the proposal steps on the Utah Board of Education's constitutional authority to oversee public education and clearly intends to open the door to intelligent design lessons in Utah public schools.

"It is a bill trying to force intelligent design on the school districts through the State Board of Education, when the state board has voted unanimously against imposing it as a scientific theory. I think he believes that by not saying (in the bill) science classes and not saying intelligent design that it's somehow constitutional," said Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education. "My (bottom line) is, the state board still has constitutional issues."

Utah public schoolchildren learn about evolution in high school biology, where it is a central part of the state core curriculum.

Buttars says he has received "eight or 10" calls from parents statewide complaining their children are being taught they evolved from apes — an idea contradictory to what they teach at home.

Buttars said last summer intelligent design should be taught in Utah public schools — perhaps in a required philosophy or humanities class — if students are to be taught that humans evolved from lesser species. He also had drawn up an "Academic Freedom Act," which would further intelligent design in public schools, and urged the State Board of Education to entertain the concepts.

The board responded with a statement backing evolution lessons but acknowledging other "ways of knowing" and stating the beliefs others bring to the classroom should be respected.