Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H560 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1596 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 560
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Mindy Domb
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act implementing elementary and secondary interdisciplinary climate literacy education.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/15/2025 1 of 5
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1596 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 560
18	18	By Representative Domb of Amherst, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 560) of Mindy
19	19	Domb relative to implementing elementary and secondary interdisciplinary climate justice
20	20	education in the Commonwealth. Education.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act implementing elementary and secondary interdisciplinary climate literacy education.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
30	30	2is hereby amended by adding the following section.
31	31	3 Section 2BBBBBB
32	32	4 (a) To achieve, promote and support the instruction of interdisciplinary climate literacy
33	33	5education for K-12 public school students in districts across the commonwealth, there shall be
34	34	6established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the
35	35	7Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Trust Fund. There shall be credited to the fund: (1) revenue
36	36	8from appropriations and other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated
37	37	9to be credited to the fund; (2) funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants, and
38	38	10donations to further interdisciplinary climate literacy education; and (3) interest earned on money
39	39	11in the fund.  Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any
40	40	12money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.     2 of 5
41	41	13  (b)(1) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with
42	42	14the Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Council established in section 1U(b) of chapter 69 of the
43	43	15General Laws, shall make expenditures from the fund, without further appropriation, to support
44	44	16the development and implementation of Elementary and Secondary Interdisciplinary Climate
45	45	17Literacy Plans, including, but not limited to:
46	46	18 (i) development, purchase, distribution and implementation of curricular materials for
47	47	19interdisciplinary climate literacy;
48	48	20 (ii) professional development training, including the provision of trainings, seminars,
49	49	21conferences and materials, for educators to use in the teaching of interdisciplinary climate
50	50	22literacy in K-12 grades;
51	51	23 (iii) opportunities for districts and stakeholders to assess and share evidence-based best
52	52	24practices in support of climate change education and student skill development, and to provide
53	53	25feedback and recommendations to the department; and
54	54	26 (iv) provide technical support to districts for their elementary and secondary
55	55	27interdisciplinary climate literacy plans.
56	56	28 (2) In making such expenditures, the commissioner shall prioritize underserved
57	57	29communities across the commonwealth including those public schools or school districts with
58	58	30high concentrations of economically-disadvantaged students; those public schools or school
59	59	31districts which serve high proportion of students from environmental justice populations, as
60	60	32defined in section 62 of chapter 30 of the General Laws; or which are located in environmental
61	61	33justice communities or communities that have or will in the future experience disproportionate
62	62	34effects of the change in climate. 3 of 5
63	63	35 (3) In making such expenditures, the commissioner may also prioritize schools
64	64	36implementing an interdisciplinary climate literacy program for the first time consistent with the
65	65	37standards set by the department of elementary and secondary education.
66	66	38 SECTION 2. Section 1D of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
67	67	39Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “skills”, in line 38, the following
68	68	40words:-
69	69	41 , interdisciplinary climate literacy
70	70	42 SECTION 3. Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official edition,
71	71	43is hereby amended by inserting after section 1T the following new section:-
72	72	44 Section 1U. Elementary and Secondary Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Plans
73	73	45 (a) as used in this section the following word shall, unless the context clearly requires
74	74	46otherwise, have the following meaning:-
75	75	47 “Interdisciplinary climate literacy”, An understanding of how human actions influence
76	76	48the climate, and how the climate influences people and other parts of the Earth system through
77	77	49the curricula of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts, history, social sciences,
78	78	50civics, and government.
79	79	51 (b) The commissioner shall create an Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Advisory
80	80	52Council. The commissioner, in consultation with the Council, shall promulgate guidelines on the
81	81	53development and implementation of district-level Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Plans.
82	82	54 (c) The council shall consist of 10 members: 2 youth leaders from a range of
83	83	55communities across the Commonwealth, including representatives of diverse environmental 4 of 5
84	84	56justice neighborhoods; 2 representatives of environmental justice organizations; 2 educators
85	85	57representing different disciplines from the fields of science, technology, engineering,
86	86	58mathematics, arts, history, social sciences, civics, or government; 2 representatives of
87	87	59environmental education organizations, 1 educator union representative with experience and
88	88	60expertise in youth mentorship, and 2 experts in climate science and best practices in policy.
89	89	61 (d) The guidelines promulgated by the commissioner with the Council shall require
90	90	62district-level Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Plans to:
91	91	63 (1) be developed with the involvement and input of youth from the district;
92	92	64 (2) be developed in consultation with environmental, environmental education, civics,
93	93	65and environmental justice organizations or professionals; and
94	94	66 (3) provide equivalent culturally competent instruction and opportunities for English
95	95	67language learners.
96	96	68 (e) Each district may implement an Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Plan that will
97	97	69provide students with an understanding of the causes of, impacts from, and policy proposals
98	98	70addressing anthropogenic climate change. Plans shall include, but not be limited to; education
99	99	71on environmental justice, the underlying causes of climate change, the effects and consequences
100	100	72of climate change, international reactions, history, and progression of scientific climate research
101	101	73and governmental and nongovernmental responses; evidence based policy solutions, the role of
102	102	74climate and environmental activism in policy making, the essential principles of Earth’s climate
103	103	75system, the options to address human-caused climate change, how to recognize credible
104	104	76information about climate change and know where to find it; how to communicate about climate 5 of 5
105	105	77change in accurate and effective ways, and how to make informed decisions related to climate
106	106	78change.
107	107	79 (f) The department shall utilize funding from the Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Trust
108	108	80Fund to support districts to develop or implement their Interdisciplinary Climate Literacy Plans.
109	109	81 (g) Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner of elementary and secondary
110	110	82education shall report to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee
111	111	83on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the fund’s activities.
112	112	84The report shall include, but not be limited to:
113	113	85 (i) the source and amount of funds received;
114	114	86 (ii) the expenditures made from the fund and the purposes of such expenditures, including
115	115	87the school districts that have received funding, indicating those that serve environmental justice
116	116	88populations; the purpose of the funds, and the estimated number of students, grade levels, and
117	117	89classes who were projected to benefit from the Fund’s support; and
118	118	90 (iii) the report shall be publicly available on the department’s website, along with the
119	119	91names and sources of educational materials developed or used and the partner organizations
120	120	92enlisted, as a result of the grant awards in order to increase access to these resources.