In the coming weeks, the National Research Council will announce nationwide recommendations for science education standards. States are under no obligation to incorporate these standards into curricula. The standards are a milestone at a critical moment in science education nationwide. States can integrate some, all or none of these suggestions into their curricula. For those of us committed to empowering America’s youth with the most accurate and up-to-date scientific information, it …

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This is a guest post by Lynsey Smithson-Stanley from Climate Nexus. 

In the coming weeks, the National Research Council will announce nationwide recommendations for science education standards. States are under no obligation to incorporate these standards into curricula. The standards are a milestone at a critical moment in science education nationwide. States can integrate some, all or none of these suggestions into their curricula. For those of us committed to empowering America’s youth with the most accurate and up-to-date scientific information, it is imperative the standards incorporate the scientific consensus on
the evidence of climate change and its extraordinary risks to humanity.

We — those who work on the ground — must challenge ongoing attempts to institutionalize climate change denial. The Heartland Institute’s plan to weave denialism into American classrooms might be the most egregious example, but several states have passed or are considering laws that perpetuate myths that a bona fide climate change “debate” exists. Just this month Tennessee passed a law that protects the teaching of climate change denial.

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