Students in Minnesota would receive a stronger education on climate justice thanks to a recent proposal introduced at the Legislature. The proposal was highlighted in a press conference this week that featured Minnesota high school students who are a part of the Youth Environmental Activist (YEA!) Network, a program through the Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy non-profit organization.
The proposal aims to make climate justice education a part of curriculum standards for K-12 students across the state and calls on the Public Utilities Commission, the Minnesota Department of Education, field experts, teachers, and students to gather resources and examples on how climate justice can be effectively implemented in Minnesota classrooms.
This proposal, which started as a student-led initiative, demonstrates the importance of youth involvement in tackling climate change. By incorporating the concerns of young Minnesotans, policymakers can hear from those who will be most impacted by the climate crisis in the coming decades.
By passing this proposal into law, students in the YEA! Network and their supporters in the Legislature hope to make education around climate justice a permanent part of Minnesota’s educational curriculum. They also emphasize the importance of teaching climate justice education as an intersectional topic, as it affects other issues including racial justice and economic inequality. (SF 666)
