CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Thursday to legislation that would allow the State Board of Education to adopt science standards that lawmakers barred last year.

Lawmakers last year prohibited the board of education from spending money to review or adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. Several other states have adopted the standards, which specify the science knowledge students should have in certain grades.

Some Wyoming lawmakers objected last year to the standards' assertion that fossil fuels cause global warming. Wyoming is the nation's leading coal-producing state and gets most state revenue from energy production taxes.

House Speaker Kermit Brown, a Laramie Republican, urged the House on Thursday to repeal last year's prohibition on the standards. He says it's not Legislature's job to tell people what to think.

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