By:  Marty Raminoff

Over the summer, some 39 elementary school teachers from across New York City participated in a four-day training session entitled, “Integrating Climate Education in N.Y.C. Public Schools.” As reported by the NY Times, its aim was to make the teachers familiar with the topic of climate change, so that it can be integrated into the lesson plans.  That summer workshop could be just the beginning of many changes to come.

Last year, New Jersey introduced climate change lessons into its public schools, having been the first state in 2020 to mandate the topic into schools at all grade levels.  NJ has roughly 130 miles of coastline  and considers itself especially susceptible to climate change, including flooding and extreme heat.  In 2023, NJ set aside $4.5 million in grants to support and train educators and to provide students in underserved districts with access to climate change education, per NPR.org. In 2024, NJ appropriated an extra $5 million toward climate change education in its fiscal year budget, NJ Department of Education spokesperson Laura Fredrick said.

In NY, similar bills are being mulled, possibly including making it required by law to teach climate change across all grades and subject matters.  The proposed bill has the support of more than 115 educators and nonprofits including the National Wildlife Federation.  “Climate change is not a future threat; it’s a present reality,” said State Senator James Sanders Jr., a Democrat who represents parts of southeast Queens including the Rockaways, which are vulnerable to flooding and heightened sea levels. Per the NY Times, Sanders is sponsoring another bill which would mandate the topic’s integration into science classes.

New York City, known as the biggest school system in the country, is also moving forward with other climate change integration for schools including efforts to decarbonize school buildings, to compost lunches, and prepare older students for careers in the clean energy industry. Per the Times, in February, the Department of Education will co-host a larger climate change training session, along with the United Federation of Teachers, for up to 500 teachers of grades K through 8th.  The more outreach, the better, said Oren Pizmony-Levy, the director of the Center for Sustainable Futures at Columbia University’s Teachers College, which co-sponsored last summer’s workshop together with Columbia and the city school system.  “It’s not about adding more, it’s more about weaving in,” Mr. Pizmony-Levy said of integrating climate change into subjects like math and English language arts.

Other states like Connecticut and California are also working to add climate change into school curriculums. Maine and Washington have also earmarked funds for professional development on the topic of climate changed. On the other hand, more conservative states like Texas, Virginia and Florida, are against such changes, with community members opposing the changes, said Glenn Branch, the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education.  Despite all the pushback and debate, a 2019 NPR and Ipsos poll revealed that over 80% of parents nationwide supported climate change instruction.

“Climate change, it’s a part of the lives of the students these days, so really every possible subject area that can teach it should be teaching it,” said Suzanne Horsley, who teaches a wellness class at Toll Gate Grammar School in Pennington, NJ.