LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A draft of Nebraska’s new science standards for public schools focuses on inquiry and thinking skills as much as scientific concepts.

The standards unveiled Thursday would apply to students from kindergarten through high school across Nebraska. They call on students to think and act like scientists by gathering and analyzing data, and communicating their results.

State Department of Education official Sara Cooper says scientific concepts and inquiry skills are currently considered separate standards. Millard Public Schools educator Ellen Kramer says combining them would advance science education.

The new standards address topics like the big-bang theory, climate change, evolution and genetically modified organisms.

Nebraska teachers, administrators and higher-education representatives began writing the new standards in October. The state Board of Education hopes to vote on a final draft by September.