Boston City Council Probes Gaps in BPS Climate and Environmental Justice Curriculum

BOSTON -- March 14, 2023, Boston City Council examines uneven climate justice curriculum across Boston Public Schools. The Education Committee held a three-hour virtual hearing Tuesday on a docket filed by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, co-sponsored by Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, to assess how climate science and environmental justice are taught in BPS. Administration witnesses, including Chief of Teaching and Learning Leslie Ryan Miller and STEM Executive Director Beth Malewski, reported that district-endorsed curriculum reaches about 94 percent of elementary students but only 73 percent of high school students, and that ESSER federal funds are financing an outdoor teaching and learning coordinator and garden construction at every K-8 building, with a goal of giving 100 percent of seventh graders an overnight experiential learning experience by 2025. Councilor Julia M. Mejia, who chaired the session, pushed for a defined minimum number of climate justice instruction hours per student per year, while nonprofit panelists from Change is Simple, Courageous Sailing, and Green Roots described surging student engagement whenever climate topics are taught with a local, hands-on focus. No votes were taken; the committee kept the matter in committee pending a follow-up hearing.