Rhode Island's Climate Change Education Act, in the form of Senate Bill 464 (PDF) and House Bill 5625 (PDF), identical bills aimed at supporting climate change education in Rhode Island, is now dead.
If enacted, the bills would have required the state department of education "to develop a set of key environmental, climate, and sustainability principles and concepts" and to take a variety of steps to ensure that they are reflected in Rhode Island's public schools. Of particular note, the bills called for the revision of the state science standards for science and social studies where appropriate, for guidance to be given of how to incorporate climate change into math and English language arts, and for teacher professional development in science, civics, and social science to include the key principles and concepts.
SB 464 died on April 14, 2021, when the Senate Education Committee voted to hold it for further study; HB 5625 died on March 10, 2021, when the House Education Committee voted to hold it for further study.
