To: Wyoming State Board of Education
Don't let climate deniers rob science education from our kids!
Please stand up for Wyoming kids and stand alongside their parents in supporting world-class science standards, modeled after the NGSS, that include climate science.
Why is this important?
Wyoming just became the first state in the nation to reject world-class science standards that teach our kids about climate change. Interest groups that pushed for this move would like to bar climate science from being taught in other states too.
Wyoming legislators voted to support a last-minute budget amendment that prohibits the Wyoming State Board of Education from spending funds to even consider the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) because students would learn about climate change in this fossil fuel-dependent state.
Wyoming State Rep. Matt Teeters, who authored the anti-science budget amendment, told the Casper Star-Tribune that teaching climate change as fact would "wreck Wyoming's economy...and cause other unwanted political ramifications." Governor Mead signed the anti-science provision into law.1
The Board of Education could push back against political meddling and assert its authority over setting science standards, but it will take an outcry from parents and science supporters from Wyoming and throughout the country.
It is a dangerous precedent to allow those who deny climate science for ideological or economic reasons to censor the science education kids need to be ready for college, career and a changing climate. Science education standards should be written by scientists and educators, not by legislators whose concerns may be more political than educational.
Ten states have adopted the NGSS, a set of science standards for K-12 students developed by an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. But the harmful action taken in Wyoming could be the beginning of an assault on climate education in the states still considering these 21st century science standards.
Wyoming students deserve access to high quality, world-class science standards just as much as students anywhere else in the nation. Given the stakes for our children’s future, it’s imperative that kids everywhere learn the facts of climate change so they can all become part of the solution.
Please send a message to the Board of Education to stand up for Wyoming kids and their future by supporting world-class science standards, modeled after the NGSS, that include climate science.
Thank you for taking action for our kids and grandkids!
Sincerely,
Marguerite Herman, Advocate for Science Education & Climate Parents Member
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Sources:
1. "Wyoming first state to block new science standards." Casper Star-Tribune. Mar. 14, 2014.
Thank you for taking action for our kids and grandkids!
Sincerely,
Marguerite Herman, Advocate for Science Education & Climate Parents Member
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming legislators voted to support a last-minute budget amendment that prohibits the Wyoming State Board of Education from spending funds to even consider the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) because students would learn about climate change in this fossil fuel-dependent state.
Wyoming State Rep. Matt Teeters, who authored the anti-science budget amendment, told the Casper Star-Tribune that teaching climate change as fact would "wreck Wyoming's economy...and cause other unwanted political ramifications." Governor Mead signed the anti-science provision into law.1
The Board of Education could push back against political meddling and assert its authority over setting science standards, but it will take an outcry from parents and science supporters from Wyoming and throughout the country.
It is a dangerous precedent to allow those who deny climate science for ideological or economic reasons to censor the science education kids need to be ready for college, career and a changing climate. Science education standards should be written by scientists and educators, not by legislators whose concerns may be more political than educational.
Ten states have adopted the NGSS, a set of science standards for K-12 students developed by an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. But the harmful action taken in Wyoming could be the beginning of an assault on climate education in the states still considering these 21st century science standards.
Wyoming students deserve access to high quality, world-class science standards just as much as students anywhere else in the nation. Given the stakes for our children’s future, it’s imperative that kids everywhere learn the facts of climate change so they can all become part of the solution.
Please send a message to the Board of Education to stand up for Wyoming kids and their future by supporting world-class science standards, modeled after the NGSS, that include climate science.
Thank you for taking action for our kids and grandkids!
Sincerely,
Marguerite Herman, Advocate for Science Education & Climate Parents Member
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Sources:
1. "Wyoming first state to block new science standards." Casper Star-Tribune. Mar. 14, 2014.
Thank you for taking action for our kids and grandkids!
Sincerely,
Marguerite Herman, Advocate for Science Education & Climate Parents Member
Cheyenne, Wyoming