2022 -- S 2039

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LC003905

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE CLIMATE LITERACY ACT

     

     Introduced By: Senators Lawson, Euer, DiMario, Valverde, Cano, Kallman, Gallo,
Burke, Miller, and Sosnowski

     Date Introduced: January 25, 2022

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by

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adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 112

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THE CLIMATE LITERACY ACT

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     16-112-1. Short title.

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     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Climate Literacy Act."

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     16-112-2. Legislative findings.

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     The legislature finds and declares that:

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     (1) The evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable, and

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the heaviest burden of climate change impacts will fall on the next generation.

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     (2) Nearly ten thousand (10,000) students graduate from Rhode Island high schools each

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year, armed with skills and knowledge about the climate that inform their actions, and the effects

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on the climate, positive or negative, of each of those ten thousand (10,000) students lasts beyond a

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lifetime.

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     (3) Those students need to be prepared to implement changes in professional and personal

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practices, to support and help develop new technology and policy, and to address the coming social

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and economic challenges and opportunities arising from a changing climate.

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     (4) It is thus essential that each of these graduates are climate literate and understand key

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environmental, climate, and sustainability principles;

 

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     (5) A study published in Nature demonstrated that children who take a climate education

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curriculum foster climate change concern among their parents;

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     (6) According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, over seventy-six

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percent (76%) of the people of Rhode Island support teaching students about the causes,

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consequences, and potential solutions to climate change;

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     (7) According to a recent national public radio poll, eighty-six percent (86%) of teachers

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in the United States feel that climate change should be taught in schools;

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     (8) A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that sixty-one percent

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(61%) of American teenagers say the issue of climate change is very or extremely important to

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them personally;

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     (9) A survey by the University of Bath and the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global

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Health showed that nearly two-thirds (2/3) of young people (ages sixteen to twenty-five (16-25))

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are extremely worried about climate change, and more than half (1/2) feel "sad, anxious, angry,

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powerless, helpless, and guilty." Sixty-eight percent (68%) of youth in the United States said that

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the "future was frightening" and nearly half (1/2) believe they will have "less opportunity than

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[their] parents." More than a third (1/3) of young people in the United States are "hesitant to have

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children" because of climate change and more than half (1/2) feel that the government is "failing

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young people" and "betraying me/future generations." A 2020 study by Wu et al. notes that stress

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and anxiety related to climate change may negatively impact the overall and long-term mental

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health of young people who are at particular risk during a crucial physical and psychological

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developmental period;

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     (10) The National Science Teaching Association, the National Association of Geoscience

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Teachers, and the National Association of Biology Teachers, as well as other professional education

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organizations, have all called for greater support for science educators in teaching climate science

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and climate change. In a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

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scientists picked climate education as one of six (6) key societal transformations needed to address

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the climate crisis;

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     (11) The Resilient Rhody Report recommends that kindergarten through grade twelve (K-

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12) education be expanded to include education on environmental literacy, including climate-

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related emergency preparedness, by developing resources for school use and identifying how these

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concepts can be incorporated into existing state standards; and

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     (12) The United States Congress is considering an active bill in the House of

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Representatives and the Senate called the Climate Change Education Act which would, if passed,

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provide competitive grants totaling twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) annually to state

 

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departments of education which have a climate education plan in place.

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     16-112-3. Purpose.

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     The purpose and intent of this chapter is to ensure that all students attending public schools,

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or other schools managed and controlled by the state, become environmentally and climate literate

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by the time they graduate from twelfth grade.

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     16-112-4. Implementation.

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     The Rhode Island department of education shall:

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     (1) In consultation with a wide representation from the environmental and climate

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education community as well as practicing teachers, principals, and superintendents, develop a set

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of key environmental, climate, and sustainability principles and concepts to be integrated into all

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science, civics and social studies courses throughout kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) no

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later than August 31, 2023;

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     (2) In consultation with a wide representation from the environmental and climate

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education community as well as practicing teachers, principals, and superintendents, identify and

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disseminate lessons, activities, and materials related to the environment, including potential career

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paths and "green jobs", which are based on these key environmental, climate, and sustainability

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principles and concepts while meeting the learning standards and grade span expectations to all

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Rhode Island schools no later than August 31, 2024;

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     (3) Produce and disseminate models and examples of how to incorporate climate change

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into math, career and technical education, and English language arts to teachers and schools no

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later than August 31, 2024;

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     (4) Review and highlight these key environmental, climate, and sustainability principles

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and concepts where they exist in the current learning standards in science and the kindergarten

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through grade twelve (K-12) Rhode Island grade span expectations for social studies where

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appropriate no later than August 31, 2025;

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     (5) Ensure that all RIDE teacher professional development in science, civics, and social

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studies includes these key principles and concepts no later than August 31, 2026; and

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     (6) Establish a "Climate Smart" award program to recognize high performing schools based

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on the metrics of the US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools program and a "Green

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Apple" award program to recognize kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) teachers who

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develop and implement high-quality instruction that addresses these key environmental, climate,

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and sustainability principles and concepts no later than August 31, 2023.

 

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE CLIMATE LITERACY ACT

***

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     This act would require that the Rhode Island department of education (RIDE) implement a

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plan to ensure that all students enrolled in public schools or other schools managed and controlled

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by the state in grades kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) become environmentally and

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climate literate by the time they graduate from high school.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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