A Florida middle school recieved national media attention after a teacher reportedly bullied and taunted a student for refusing to dissect a frog during science class. This thirteen-year-old student was protected under Florida's Choice-In-Dissection law, allowing her to opt of dissection with a parent's permission. The Florida State Board of Education is now investigating the incident. 

Hopefully the school board will determine the appropriate disciplinary measures for the teacher, but the school should now take the opportunity to become a model of humane dissection. Following the incident, PETA offered to buy the school a set of virtual dissection kits. 

Not only do students reportedly learn better from virtual dissection programs, but these applications also protect animals and the environment. Frogs are the most commonly dissected animal, and millions of frogs are captured from the wild every year for use in classrooms. Frog population decline is due in part to the widespread use of frogs in classroom dissection.

Sign the petition to tell the Florida Collier County School Board to switch to humane dissection alternatives. 

Photo Credit: Albert Straub