Minnesota's House File 2297 would, if enacted, require the state commissioner of education to "provide a climate justice model program for elementary and secondary school students aligned with current scientific research." The bill was introduced by Larry Kraft (Democratic-Farmer-Labor-District 46A) and five of his colleagues on February 28, 2023, and referred to the House Education Policy Committee.
The model program would be required to be consistent with the state's standards and include climate justice content that addresses "human activities causing climate change and the risk to all life forms; ... climate change's disproportionate effects on communities facing systemic oppression ...; the relationship between systemic change and accessible environmental stewardship; and ... the growing number of economic and environmental solutions."
House File 2297 is the counterpart of Senate File 476, which passed the Senate Education Policy Committee but was re-referred to the Senate Education Finance Committee. Both bills are similar to but less stringent than House File 550 and the identical Senate File 666 from 2021, which would have also mandated the provision of climate justice instruction to students in grades 1 through 12; these ultimately died in committee, as NCSE previously reported.
