ATLANTA — The word “evolution” should stay in the curriculum used for Georgia students, Gov. Sonny Perdue said on Jan. 31.

“If you’re going to teach evolution, you ought to call it evolution,” Perdue told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “By that I mean, there ought to be a balance. Evolution, as I understand it, is an academic theory. I think it should be taught as academic theory.”

The governor sought to end a dispute surrounding a proposal earlier last month by state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox to replace the word “evolution” with “biological changes over time,” a phrase that scientists say is meaningless. The proposal is for new middle and high school science standards.

Perdue’s comments are his first definitive statement on the issue, which he said just after a speech at the Georgia Christian Coalition’s Families and Freedom Kickoff at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta.

“The name is what it is, and we should call it that,” Perdue said. “I think that Superintendent Cox ... will listen to the people on these proposals. In this business you don’t get the privilege of thinking out loud. And I think Superintendent Cox was thinking out loud.”

Perdue called for a balanced classroom approach when dealing with evolution, which he said must be taught as a theory.

“What concerns me is that many times you’ll have teachers in the classroom with impressionable students who go beyond that and teach it as a proven fact, and then go beyond that and ridicule students who would believe anything other than the theory of evolution,” Perdue said. “I think we need to have academic freedom, but we need academic balance as well.”

Perdue said he had not “had the opportunity” to discuss the issue with the superintendent.

Cox’s proposal was criticized by educators and both liberal and conservative lawmakers.

State Rep. Bob Holmes, D-Atlanta, chairman of the House Education Committee, said he hoped Cox would back away from her evolution proposal now that Perdue has spoken on the issue.

“I agree with the governor, but I think Superintendent Cox has already contributed to giving the state another black eye on this,” Holmes said. “I hope she’ll take the governor’s words to heed. I think she’ll realize her mistake.

“Here we are, saying we have to improve standards and improve education, and we’re just throwing a bone to the conservatives with total disregard to what scientists say,” Holmes said.

Former President Jimmy Carter had harsh words for the change on Jan. 30, calling it an embarrassment and saying it exposes the state to nationwide ridicule.

“As a Christian, a trained engineer and scientist, and a professor at Emory University, I am embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox’s attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia’s students,” Carter said in a statement.

Cox spokesman Kirk Englehardt said the superintendent respects Carter’s opinion, “as we do the opinions of all citizens of Georgia.”

“We would also like to make sure that President Carter, as well as the rest of Georgia’s citizens, understands that we’re not imposing a ban on evolution from textbooks or the classroom,” he said.

Social conservatives who prefer religious creation to be taught instead of evolution criticized the proposal as well.

“If you’re teaching the concept without the word, what’s the point?” said Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican. “It’s stupid. It’s like teaching gravity without using the word gravity.”

During a Jan. 29 press conference, Cox repeatedly referred to evolution as a negative “buzzword” and said the proposal to remove it arose, in part, to alleviate pressure on teachers in socially conservative areas where parents object to its teaching.

Cox said Jan. 29 that the change, which would strike the word “evolution” from Georgia’s science curriculum, is only a suggestion and far from becoming official policy.

The proposal is part of more than 800 pages of draft revisions to Georgia’s curriculum that were posted Jan. 12 on the Department of Education Web site for educators and the public to consider. Cox said on Jan. 29 she would weigh public input on the issue before rendering her final decision.

But she said she was unsure whether public feedback or the opinion of science teachers and other experts would weigh more heavily in her recommendation to the state Board of Education.

The board is expected to rule on proposed changes to the state’s curriculum in May.

Currently five states — Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have no references to evolution in their state school curriculums, according to the National Center for Science Education.