Climate Change Education Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2310 To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration to establish a Climate Change Education Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2021 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. GALLEGO, and Mr. HUFFMAN) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a Climate Change Education Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Edu- 4 cation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2310 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The evidence for human-induced climate 3 change is overwhelming and undeniable. 4 (2) Atmospheric carbon can be significantly re- 5 duced through conservation, by shifting to renewable 6 energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geo- 7 thermal, and by increasing the efficiency of build- 8 ings, including domiciles, and transportation. 9 (3) Providing clear information about climate 10 change, in a variety of forms, can remove the fear 11 and the sense of helplessness, and encourage individ- 12 uals and communities to take action. 13 (4) Implementation of measures that promote 14 energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable en- 15 ergy will greatly reduce human impact on the envi- 16 ronment. 17 (5) Informing people of new technologies and 18 programs as they become available will ensure max- 19 imum understanding and maximum effect of those 20 measures. 21 (6) More than 3,000,000 students graduate 22 from high schools and colleges in the United States 23 each year, armed with attitudes, skills, and knowl- 24 edge about the climate that inform their actions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2310 IH (7) The effect on the climate, positive or nega- 1 tive, of each of those 3,000,000 students lasts be- 2 yond a lifetime. 3 (8) Those students need to be prepared to im- 4 plement changes in professional and personal prac- 5 tices, to support and help develop new technology 6 and policy, and to address the coming social and 7 economic challenges and opportunities arising from a 8 changing climate. 9 (9) It has been demonstrated that the people of 10 the United States overwhelmingly support teaching 11 students about the causes, consequences, and poten- 12 tial solutions to climate change in all 50 States and 13 more than 3,000 counties across the United States. 14 (10) Only 30 percent of middle school and 45 15 percent of high school science teachers understand 16 the extent of the scientific consensus on climate 17 change. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION.—The term 21 ‘‘climate change education’’ means nonformal and 22 formal interdisciplinary learning at all age levels 23 about— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2310 IH (A) climate change, climate adaptation and 1 mitigation, climate resilience, and climate jus- 2 tice; and 3 (B) the effects of climate change, climate 4 adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, 5 and climate justice on the environmental, en- 6 ergy, social, and economic systems of the 7 United States. 8 (2) CLIMATE LITERACY.—The term ‘‘climate 9 literacy’’ means competence or knowledge of climate 10 change, its causes and impacts, and the technical, 11 scientific, economic, and social dynamics of prom- 12 ising solutions. 13 (3) CLIMATE JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘climate jus- 14 tice’’ means the fair treatment and meaningful in- 15 volvement of all people, regardless of race, color, cul- 16 ture, national origin, or income, with respect to the 17 development, implementation, and enforcement of 18 policies and projects to ensure that each person en- 19 joys the same degree of protection from the adverse 20 effects of climate change. 21 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 22 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 23 meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 24 race, color, culture, national origin, or income, with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2310 IH respect to the development, implementation, and en- 1 forcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 2 policies to ensure that each person enjoys— 3 (A) the same degree of protection from en- 4 vironmental and health hazards; and 5 (B) equal access to any Federal agency ac- 6 tion on environmental justice issues in order to 7 have a healthy environment in which to live, 8 learn, work, and recreate. 9 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 10 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 11 a community with significant representation of com- 12 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 13 and indigenous communities that experiences, or is 14 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 15 human health or environmental effects as compared 16 to other communities. 17 (6) GREEN ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘green econ- 18 omy’’ means an economy that results in improved 19 human and economic well-being and social equity by 20 significantly reducing environmental risks and eco- 21 logical scarcities. 22 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2310 IH meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 2 (8) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU- 3 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 4 agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 5 meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 7 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 8 (9) NONFORMAL.—The term ‘‘nonformal’’ 9 means, with respect to learning, out-of-school edu- 10 cational programming carried out by nonprofit orga- 11 nizations and public agencies. 12 (10) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 13 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de- 14 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 15 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 16 501(a) of that Code. 17 SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 18 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 19 mospheric Administration shall establish a Climate 20 Change Education Program to— 21 (1) increase the climate literacy of the United 22 States by broadening the understanding of climate 23 change, including possible long-term and short-term 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2310 IH consequences, disproportionate impacts of those con- 1 sequences, and potential solutions; 2 (2) apply the latest scientific and technological 3 discoveries, including through the use of the sci- 4 entific assets of the Administration, to provide for- 5 mal and nonformal learning opportunities to individ- 6 uals of all ages, including individuals of diverse cul- 7 tural and linguistic backgrounds; and 8 (3) emphasize actionable information to help 9 people understand and promote implementation of 10 new technologies, programs, and incentives related 11 to climate change, climate adaptation and mitiga- 12 tion, climate resilience, climate justice, and environ- 13 mental justice. 14 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Climate Change 16 Education Program established under section 4, the Ad- 17 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 18 ministration shall establish a program to make grants to 19 the following: 20 (1) State educational agencies, in partnership 21 with local educational agencies and local nonprofit 22 organizations, for the implementation of aspects of 23 State climate literacy plans for grades 4 through 12 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2310 IH formal and informal climate change education 1 that— 2 (A) are aligned with State education 3 standards; 4 (B) ensure that students graduate from 5 high school with climate literacy; and 6 (C) include at least 1 of the following: 7 (i) Relevant teacher training and pro- 8 fessional development. 9 (ii) Integration of key climate change 10 concepts into State education standards 11 for science, technology, engineering, and 12 mathematics (STEM), civics and social 13 studies, and other relevant subject areas 14 during the next revision of such standards. 15 (iii) Development of climate change 16 education educational frameworks and 17 model curricula and curation and dissemi- 18 nation of existing climate change cur- 19 riculum materials. 20 (iv) Creation of applied learning 21 project-based models, such as models mak- 22 ing optimum use of green features im- 23 provements to school facilities, such as en- 24 ergy systems, lighting systems, water man- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2310 IH agement, waste management, and school 1 grounds improvements. 2 (v) Incorporation of climate change 3 mitigation and green technologies into new 4 and existing career and technical education 5 career tracks and work-based learning ex- 6 periences, including development of part- 7 nerships with labor organizations, trade or- 8 ganizations, and apprenticeship programs. 9 (2) Institutions of higher education and net- 10 works or partnerships of such institutions to engage 11 teams of faculty and students to develop applied cli- 12 mate research and deliver to local communities di- 13 rect services related to local climate mitigation and 14 adaptation issues, with priority given to projects 15 that— 16 (A) foster long-term campus-community 17 partnerships; 18 (B) show potential to scale work beyond 19 the grant term; 20 (C) are inclusive for all segments of the 21 population; and 22 (D) promote equitable and just outcomes. 23 (3) Professional associations and academic dis- 24 ciplinary societies for projects that build capacity at 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2310 IH the State and national levels for continuing edu- 1 cation by practicing professionals and the general 2 public in green economy fields. 3 (4) Youth corps organizations to engage in 4 community-based climate mitigation and adaptation 5 work that includes a substantive educational compo- 6 nent. 7 (b) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION OFFICE.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be, within the 9 Office of Education of the National Oceanic and At- 10 mospheric Administration, an Office of Climate 11 Change Education to administer the grant program 12 required by subsection (a). 13 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Office of Climate 14 Change Education shall annually consult with other 15 relevant agencies of the Federal Government to de- 16 termine ways in which grant making under sub- 17 section (a) can enhance and support other national 18 climate education and training and environmental 19 justice goals. 20 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.— 21 The Office of Climate Change Education shall en- 22 sure that 40 percent of all funds appropriated for 23 grants under paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2310 IH (a) are directed into environmental justice commu- 1 nities. 2 (4) COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE.—The Office of 3 Climate Change Education shall establish commu- 4 nities of practice with respect to each of paragraphs 5 (1) through (4) of subsection (a) in order to accel- 6 erate learning. 7 SEC. 6. REPORT. 8 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact- 9 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis- 10 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 11 tration shall submit to Congress a report that evaluates 12 the scientific merits, educational effectiveness, and broad- 13 er effects of activities carried out under this Act. 14 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 16 priated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 17 tration to carry out this Act $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 18 years 2021 through 2026. 19 (b) ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS FOR GRANT PRO- 20 GRAM.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated to 22 carry out the grant program required by section 5(a) 23 shall be allocated as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2310 IH (A) 50 percent for grants made under 1 paragraph (1) of such section. 2 (B) 30 percent for grants made under 3 paragraph (2) of such section. 4 (C) 10 percent for grants made under 5 paragraph (3) of such section. 6 (D) 10 percent for grants made under 7 paragraph (4) of such section. 8 (2) EXCEPTION.—If amounts appropriated to 9 carry out the grant program required by section 5(a) 10 do not exceed $5,000,000 in any fiscal year, the Na- 11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may 12 use in that fiscal year— 13 (A) 60 percent of such amounts for grants 14 made under paragraph (1) of such section; and 15 (B) 40 percent of such amounts for grants 16 made under paragraph (2) of such section. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2310.IH H2310 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS