"The State Board of Education today voted to approve new curriculum standards for selected high school courses, marketing a limited but important step forward in teaching Texas students about climate change," the Texas Freedom Network reported in a June 25, 2021, press release.
The board gave its final approval on June 25, 2021, to proposed new standards for high school elective science courses, including Earth Systems Science and Environmental Systems. TFN observed, "Two of those courses will include coverage of climate change that is substantially more robust than all of the standards adopted by the board in 2009." Those previous standards were among the worst in the country for their treatment of climate change, according to a study conducted by NCSE and the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund.
In 2020, the treatment of climate change in Texas's standards for required high school science classes was improved slightly, as NCSE previously reported. The board is expected to consider revised K-8 science standards in the fall of 2021.
