Supporting the teaching of climate change in schools.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 262 Supporting the teaching of climate change in schools. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2023 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. FROST, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. DAVIS of Illi- nois, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NADLER, Mr. PA- NETTA, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. TONKO, and Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce RESOLUTION Supporting the teaching of climate change in schools. Whereas, to respond meaningfully to our rapidly changing cli- mate, youth must be educated about the causes, ongoing effects, and current and potential solutions for the chang- ing climate; Whereas confronting the challenges of a changing climate re- quires bipartisan effort focused on educating and empow- ering future generations; Whereas the impacts of climate-related disasters threaten the physical and mental safety of students by keeping them out of school, damaging infrastructure, and exacerbating Adverse Childhood Experiences; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 262 IH Whereas, in 2021, the National Association of School Psy- chologists passed a resolution declaring that climate change negatively impacts the mental health of youth and asserting that climate education is a key factor in sup- porting student agency, self-efficacy, and resilience; Whereas climate change disproportionately affects the funda- mental rights of children to a climate system capable of sustaining human life, and which is preservative of fun- damental rights, including the rights to life, liberty, prop- erty, and education; Whereas failing to provide climate education to all students in our Nation worsens an existing education gap and lim- its career opportunities, exacerbating the impact of envi- ronmental pollution, redlining, and sacrifice zones; Whereas K–12 climate education has widespread support, and according to a recent National Public Radio survey, 84 percent of parents with children under 18 years of age and 86 percent of teachers in the United States support climate education; Whereas, according to a 2021 national Yale Climate Commu- nications survey, teaching about global warming is 1 of 3 most supported climate policy solutions, with 77 per- cent of respondents in support; Whereas research suggests that implementing climate edu- cation at a national scale can reduce emissions at the same magnitude as solar panels and electric vehicles; Whereas investments in high school vocational trade and job training programs are critical in preparing the next gen- eration to quickly engage in the estimated 9,000,000 re- newable energy, clean infrastructure, and environmental restoration jobs by 2032; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 262 IH Whereas, according to the Department of Energy 2022 Em- ployment Report Fact Sheet, ‘‘renewable energy added the most new jobs in the electricity generation sector from 2020 to 2021’’; Whereas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 of the 3 fastest growing jobs are in the renewable energy sector, and these job openings are outpacing the number of workers qualified to fill them; and Whereas, in order to deploy climate solutions at the necessary pace according to the best available science, the United States must engage the education sector at the local edu- cational agency, State, and Federal levels: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the integration, funding, and im- 2 plementation of interdisciplinary, solution-based cli- 3 mate education curriculum into K–12 schools in the 4 States, the District of Columbia, indigenous commu- 5 nities, and territories and possessions of the United 6 States; 7 (2) encourages the Department of Education to 8 work alongside States and local educational agencies 9 to define and implement comprehensive and inter- 10 disciplinary climate education standards, according 11 to the best available science; 12 (3) calls on the Department of Education to 13 support research that measures the impacts of cli- 14 mate education on student behavior; 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 262 IH (4) affirms that climate education should be 1 compatible with various learning styles in order to 2 provide equitable access to all students; 3 (5) encourages local and regional school boards 4 to implement place-based, solution-oriented, and de- 5 velopmentally appropriate climate education in all 6 grade levels and multiple subject areas; 7 (6) encourages those who develop climate edu- 8 cation curricula to address climate-induced trauma, 9 acknowledging the growing impact of climate change 10 on youths’ mental health; 11 (7) commits to taking immediate action to ad- 12 vance climate education in the United States by pro- 13 viding funding and support for teacher education, 14 professional development, and the creation of best 15 practices for national climate education curricula 16 and teaching standards; 17 (8) encourages the incorporation of climate 18 change education as a critical component of the Na- 19 tional Climate Action Plan as a quantifiable means 20 of emissions reduction and as an essential leverage 21 point for scaling climate solutions and promoting re- 22 silience in local communities; 23 (9) calls for the formation of an Office of Cli- 24 mate Literacy and Career Development and a Cli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 262 IH mate Education Task Force in the Department of 1 Education in order to support local educational 2 agencies in implementing climate education and cre- 3 ating vocational programs to educate and prepare 4 students for renewable energy, transportation, and 5 regenerative agricultural careers; 6 (10) supports the efforts of States and school 7 boards to require climate education in curricular 8 guidelines and affirms the rights of parents to advo- 9 cate for the well-being of their children and the plan- 10 et; and 11 (11) encourages policymakers, States, local edu- 12 cational agencies, and schools to work with students, 13 teachers, and climate scientists when developing and 14 implementing climate education programs to reflect 15 the voices of young people and educators. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB