Environmental Bills Promoting Climate Literacy
Several states are attempting to pass legislation mandating climate change curriculum in K-12 instruction.
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) published a list of 18 pieces of legislation, across 10 states, all focused on climate change education. These bills would increase the amount of climate change, sustainability, and environmental science concepts taught in public schools.
Arizona
In Arizona, Senate Bill 1368 calls for the State Board of Education to include climate change instruction based on the 2013 Next Generation Science Standards. These standards outline a framework for teachers to integrate climate change lessons into their K-12 classrooms.
Many parts of Arizona are already feeling the effects of global warming with dangerously high-temperature spikes increasing over the past decade. In Arizona, 84% of parents support education on human-driven climate change, but a majority of schools still lack these teachings.
Young students in Arizona will feel the effects of drier conditions, wildfires, and air pollution because of higher temperatures just like everyone else. They deserve to be educated on how these conditions will affect their lives and empowered to make educated environmental decisions. The Next Generation Science Standards offer valuable objectives and benchmarks for each grade level, allowing teachers to build a solid climate change understanding in students.
California
Assembly Bill 1922 in California would amend the state’s Education Code to add coursework on the causes and effects of climate change.
The California Environmental Protection Agency and CalRecycle lead the Education and the Environment Initiative, which provides teachers with a standard-based environmental curriculum. This effort supplies the instructors with the tools they need to teach their students about global warming, sustainability, and nature. These lessons are unique and effective because the teachings weave climate change into all subjects, not just science. The law still does not mandate that teachers must use these lessons.
California is one of the environmental leaders of the United States, and the K-12 education system of the state should reflect that. The Education Code must be reformed to make climate change education a graduation requirement for middle school and high school.
Connecticut
Comparable to Arizona, Connecticut’s House Bill 5215 would integrate climate change education in public school instruction with guidelines following the Next Generation Science Standards.
In 2018 and 2019, similar bills supporting climate change education in Connecticut schools passed in the House but remained unpassed in the Senate. The previous pieces of legislation exposed several Republican climate skeptics within the Connecticut House who voted against the bills. However, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection offers workshops to help educators implement climate change and air quality lessons into their curriculums.
Instructors should take advantage of these workshops and practice teaching their students about ongoing, pressing environmental issues. If this bill passes in Connecticut, the Next Generation Science Standards would strengthen these studies and improve climate change literacy across the state.
Hawaii
Hawaii’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 58 seeks to mandate climate change instruction in public schools by the 2021–2022 academic calendar.
As an island, Hawaii is at high risk. This bill directly acknowledges Hawaii’s susceptibility to climate threats, such as sea-level rise, altering weather patterns, and severe storms. To effectively prevent these natural disasters, teachers must educate students on how we can fight climate change. In the meantime, the Hawaii Nature Center offers environmental education programs and resources for teachers.
These programs could be a great alternative for instructors in lieu of the state currently not requiring educators to teach climate science in classrooms. If the bill passes, teachers would have to develop a unique climate change curriculum.
New Hampshire
House Bill 1635 in New Hampshire outlines, per grade, how many hours of climate education the teachers should provide and specific topics to cover, including how humans affect the climate.
In 2016, New Hampshire adopted the Next Generation Science Standards for middle and high school instruction, but this does not mandate climate education by law. The New Hampshire Coastal Adaptation Workgroup’s Climate in the Classroom Program has resources for the classroom that are readily available for teachers to integrate a successful climate change curriculum.
If this bill passes, it would be greatly advantageous for the state. New Hampshire could ensure climate change is now being taught appropriately at every grade level and that the lessons are comprehensive.
New Jersey
As of June 3, 2020, New Jersey is the very first state to mandate climate change education in K-12 instruction.
New Jersey’s Student Learning Standards have officially been updated to include climate change topics. The new lessons will consist of both scientific foundations and the proposed solutions to the climate crisis. Ensuring even young children understand the basic mechanics of global warming and ways to mitigate these climate threats is fundamental in creating well-rounded and environmentally informed students.
Set to take effect during the 2021–2022 academic year, this is a massive first step in spreading climate literacy and, hopefully, all other states will follow soon.
New York
New York has the most bills on this topic in 2020 so far. Assembly Bill 9831 (Senate Bill 6837) seeks to supply grant funding for educator professional development and climate literacy programs. The second bill, Assembly Bill 9886 (Senate Bill 7341), would create a diverse climate curriculum covering a variety of environmental topics. Last, Senate Bill 6877 addresses the lack of climate change education in high schools and would require the commissioner of education to recommend ways to implement this curriculum into high school students’ senior year.
In 2016, New York passed Resolution 0375 which called upon the New York State Department of Education to impose environmental education in K-12 instruction. This is a great first step. These bills discussed above propose important and original methods to increase climate change education and are essential for New York to continue promoting climate literacy.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s bill is House Resolution 7471 (Senate Resolution 2626), which would allow for the creation of a comprehensive list of environmental topics and concepts that teachers should implement into public school curriculums.
The State of Rhode Island has an online portal dedicated to providing information about climate change. This website has informational resources at the state level, for cities and towns, residents, and businesses. The section dedicated to cities and towns offers tools for Planning Boards and Commissions to educate themselves on climate change.
While these services are promoting general climate literacy, this type of education is not directly occurring in schools in Rhode Island. This bill would help teachers formulate lesson plans and begin teaching students about the climate crisis.
Washington
House Bill 1496 (Senate Bill 5576) in Washington State would create a grant program to develop climate science curriculums in public schools and offer professional development and workshops for teachers to properly teach climate change.
Washington State has a statewide climate literacy program called ClimeTime. This initiative provides $4 million for grants to help instructors teach climate change, sustainability, and environmental science concepts. The project has been massively successful. 88% of participants stated, after ClimeTime, they have a deeper and broader understanding of climate science.
ClimeTime is an enormous achievement. Now, it is time for Washington to pass this environmental bill mandating all public school teachers undergo similar climate training to teach climate change in schools across the state.
This curriculum is crucial. Young children are ones who will bear the burden of the climate crisis, but they are not the ones who caused it. We cannot allow these students to make the same environmental mistakes previous generations have. Teachers must begin molding new environmental leaders who will guide future adaptation, mitigation, and long-term sustainability efforts.
