School Board Member Climate Action Toolkit

It’s warming. It’s us. It’s happening now. But we can take action. And school board members can help advance solutions.

Ensuring children have safe and healthy learning environments is vital for their well-being and success. Unfortunately, the impacts of climate change pose a significant threat to the health and safety of students and have a disproportionate impact on schools and districts that serve primarily low-income students and students of color.

But here’s the good news:

Schools-and school board members in particular-have a unique opportunity to safeguard the health of their students, prevent disruptions in their learning, and contribute to a healthier future by reducing carbon emissions by cutting pollution from school facilities.

This toolkit, developed in partnership with UndauntedK12 and School Board Partners, supports school board members to understand their role in driving meaningful climate solutions. School board members can collaborate with district leaders, youth, and community leaders to pass resolutions and develop climate action plans for their districts. These local K-12 climate action plans, similar to those embraced by city governments, utilize community needs and strengths as guiding principles for schools. These plans enable educational institutions to:

• Reduce Climate Pollution: Implement strategies to decrease the pollution harming our health and driving climate change.

• Prepare for Climate Impacts: Develop greater resilience against the challenges posed by climate change.

• Educate Students: Educate students about climate change, climate solutions and inspire action.

• Advance Equity: Prioritize communities that are most impacted by climate change and are at the center of decisions and schools.