Connecticut becomes second US state to make climate change studies must for grades 5 to 12

Climate Change studies will be mandatory in the US state of Connecticut from grades 5 to 12. The development, hailed as ‘landmark’ by climate change activists, comes after a new law passed earlier this year addressed the short duration and in some cases, complete absence of the climate change studies in classrooms.

Previously in 2020, New Jersey had become the first state to mandate K-12 climate change education across its school districts.

Reports say that nearly 90 per cent of public schools across Connecticut include climate change studies in their curriculums.

However, after being mandated as part of state law, climate change education will effectively become protected from budget cuts.

“The conservative turn in our country often starts at a very hyper-local level of local town boards of education. There is this push towards anti-intellectualism, anti-science, anti-reason, and I didn’t want local boards of education to have the power to overturn the curriculum and say, ‘climate change is too political,’” Connecticut state representative Christine Palm was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

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In the United States, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is the agency that sets up science standards that layout the charter for science studies in all the states.

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According to the NGSS website, school students who demonstrate understanding of the human impact on the environment can “apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment”, among other abilities.

Few countries with legislativemandate for climate change studies

A study from a British university reveals that more than half of young people experience climate anxiety on a daily basis. But only a handful of countries currently mandate climate change studies in their education systems, despite many being signatories to this objective in the Paris Agreement, a WEF report suggests. They include Cambodia, United Kingdom and Argentina.

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