by Paulina Firozi (Washington Post) State lawmakers from Connecticut to Florida are proposing measures that some groups say could threaten how science and climate change are taught in the classroom. More than a dozen such bills have popped up this year, including from state lawmakers pushing back against broad scientific consensus that people are warming the planet, according to the National Center for Science Education.
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Glenn Branch, the deputy director at NCSE, which tracks the measures, told me the organization has seen more activity on this front in 2019 than it usually tracks in an entire year — Branch usually expects to see a half dozen to a dozen of bills annually aimed at changing how science is taught in elementary and secondary school classrooms. While many of the measures have already failed, they’re an example of how the climate debate is trickling down to states, where there’s entrenchment from some conservatives as the issue rises in importance in national politics.
Most of these measures were introduced by state Republicans and are aimed at affecting public education in a range of ways, from removing language about climate science from statewide standards to repealing those state standards for science instruction or by broadly requiring “balance” in the teaching of “controversial issues.”
And there’s no evidence they will necessarily pass, though the wave of introductions is notable.
A state lawmaker in Connecticut, for example, has proposed prohibiting the use of the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed by states to improve science education and have been adopted by 19 states and the District of Columbia. A similar proposal was introduced in Iowa.
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Two other bills in Florida, for example, would require instructional materials in public schools to “provide objective, balanced and noninflammatory viewpoints on controversial issues.” Branch said even though these two bills don’t mention science, such measures could “expand the ability of Floridians to challenge instructional materials to which they take exception.”
Even if the measures don’t ultimately advance, Branch said it’s important for people to know their state legislators are eyeing changes to how science is taught.
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Christine Palm,for instance, introduced a bill this year to require public schools to teach climate science starting in elementary school. While Connecticut has adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, she said they don’t go far enough.
“Next Generation Science Standards are great, but they’re more like recommendations than mandates,” she said. “They don’t talk about climate change in any meaningful way until the fifth grade, and I think it’s too late.”
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Washington state Democrat Sen. Claire Wilson proposed a bill requiring schools to teach science “with special reference to the environmental and sustainability standards,” and would establish grants to train teachers on the Next Generation Science Standards. READ MORE
