California's Assembly Bill 285 passed the Assembly on a 59-2 vote on May 8, 2023. The bill would, if enacted, require the California course of study for grades 1-6 and grades 7-12 to emphasize the causes and effects of climate change and methods to mitigate and adapt to its effects. Additionally, appropriate coursework including such material would be required to be offered as soon as possible, no later than the 2024-2025 school year.
The bill was introduced by Luz Rivas (D-District 39) along with six colleagues in the Assembly and two in the Senate. Rivas introduced similar bills in previous legislative sessions — Assembly Bill 1939 in 2022 and Assembly Bill 1922 in 2020 — which also would have required at least one of the two science classes required for graduation from high school to include material on climate change. These bills eventually died in committee.
