NYS mandates climate change education. What will students learn?

·51 min·3 clips

Orlando Marrero says climate anxiety is not coming from classrooms if schools still are not teaching it across grade levels.

Connections centers this hour on New York State's climate-education mandate. The Board of Regents recently approved new requirements for public school classrooms. They take effect in fall 2027. The mandate covers kindergarten through 12th grade. New York becomes only the second state in the nation to require climate education, after New Jersey. Evan Dawson frames the discussion around what students should actually be taught. The starting point is the causes of climate change. The next layer is its impact. The hardest question is what possible solutions belong in the curriculum. The hour also asks who should decide those standards. Critics of the policy argue that schools should stay out of climate debates. The conversation lets that objection stand without letting it take over. The guests then turn to age-appropriate teaching. For younger students, the emphasis lands on the environment, natural resources, and how human actions affect them. For older students, the discussion becomes more direct and urgent. Several speakers argue that teens are already living with the effects of climate change. The show also pushes beyond the science classroom. One thread suggests that climate education could connect with policy, student engagement, and current events. The hour closes with Dawson inviting the guests back once the regulation is reality and schools are carrying it out, then joking that the price of wind and sunshine has stayed flat at zero.

As heard by us

A practical look at New York's climate education mandate and how it could shape what students learn.

New York's climate-education mandate anchors the hour, and the more interesting question is what students should learn about causes, impacts, and possible solutions.

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You want a grounded guide to how New York climate policy turns into K-12 classroom teaching.

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