I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2349 
To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
establish a Climate Change Education Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 22, 2019 
Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. BROWNLEY of 
California, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. COHEN) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration to establish a Climate Change Education Pro-
gram, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Edu-
cation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The evidence for human-induced climate 
change is overwhelming and undeniable. 
(2) Atmospheric carbon can be significantly re-
duced through conservation, by shifting to renewable 
energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geo-
thermal, and by increasing the efficiency of build-
ings, including domiciles, and transportation. 
(3) Providing clear information about climate 
change, in a variety of forms, can remove the fear 
and the sense of helplessness, and encourage individ-
uals and communities to take action. 
(4) Implementation of measures that promote 
energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable en-
ergy will greatly reduce human impact on the envi-
ronment. 
(5) Informing people of new technologies and 
programs as they become available will ensure max-
imum understanding and maximum effect of those 
measures. 
(6) More than 3,000,000 students graduate 
from high schools and colleges each year, armed 
with attitudes, skills, and knowledge about the cli-
mate that inform their actions. 
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(7) The effect on the climate, positive or nega-
tive, of each of those 3,000,000 students lasts be-
yond a lifetime. 
(8) Those students need to be prepared to im-
plement changes in professional and personal prac-
tices, to support and help develop new technology 
and policy, and to address the coming social and 
economic challenges and opportunities arising from a 
changing climate. 
(9) It has been demonstrated that the people of 
the United States overwhelmingly support teaching 
students about the causes, consequences, and poten-
tial solutions to climate change in all 50 States and 
more than 3,000 counties across the United States. 
(10) Only 30 percent of middle school and 45 
percent of high school science teachers understand 
the extent of the scientific consensus on climate 
change. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘climate change education’’ means informal and for-
mal interdisciplinary learning at all age levels 
about— 
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(A) climate change, climate adaptation and 
mitigation, and climate resilience; and 
(B) the effects of climate change, climate 
adaptation and mitigation, and climate resil-
ience on the environmental, energy, social, and 
economic systems of the United States. 
(2) GREEN COLLAR JOB.—The term ‘‘green col-
lar job’’ means a job— 
(A) in a business that produces goods or 
provides services that benefit the environment 
or conserve natural resources; or 
(B) in which the duties of the worker in-
volve making the production processes of the 
employer more environmentally friendly or use 
fewer natural resources. 
(3) GREEN ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘green econ-
omy’’ means an economy that results in improved 
human well-being and social equity by significantly 
reducing environmental risks and ecological scar-
cities. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
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(5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 
agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(6) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de-
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 
501(a) of that Code. 
SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration shall establish a Climate 
Change Education Program to— 
(1) increase the climate literacy of the United 
States by broadening the understanding of climate 
change, including possible long-term and short term 
consequences and potential solutions; 
(2) apply the latest scientific and technological 
discoveries, including through the use of the sci-
entific assets of the Administration, to provide for-
mal and informal learning opportunities to individ-
uals of all ages, including individuals of diverse cul-
tural and linguistic backgrounds; and 
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(3) emphasize actionable information to help 
people understand and promote implementation of 
new technologies, programs, and incentives related 
to climate change, climate adaptation and mitiga-
tion, and climate resilience. 
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Climate Change 
Education Program established under section 4, the Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall establish a program to make grants— 
(1) to States to encourage and support plans 
and programs for kindergarten through grade 12 
formal and informal climate change education— 
(A) to ensure that students graduate from 
high school with high climate literacy, includ-
ing— 
(i) relevant teacher training and pro-
fessional development; 
(ii) science, technology, engineering, 
arts and design, and mathematics edu-
cation; and 
(iii) interdisciplinary studies; and 
(B) with a particular focus on programs 
that advance widespread State and local edu-
cational agency adoption of climate change edu-
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cation, including funding for State educational 
agencies in partnership with local educational 
agencies and local nonprofit organizations to— 
(i) integrate key principles of climate 
change education into existing kinder-
garten through grade 12 State academic 
content 
standards, 
student 
academic 
achievement standards, or State cur-
riculum frameworks; 
(ii) create model State climate change 
curricula; 
(iii) develop and implement State 
teacher training programs; and 
(iv) support secondary school prepara-
tion or work-based experiences in green 
collar jobs; and 
(2) to institutions of higher education to— 
(A) improve the quality of and access to 
training, certification, and higher education for 
green collar jobs in the future green economy, 
such as green construction, design, technology, 
health, engineering, business, and policy stud-
ies, including sustainability science, and with a 
particular focus on programs that address re-
structuring institutional incentives and reducing 
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institutional barriers to widespread faculty 
adoption of interdisciplinary teaching of climate 
change education; and 
(B) engage teams of faculty and students 
to develop applied climate research and deliver 
to local communities direct services related to 
local climate mitigation and adaptation issues, 
with a priority focus on communities impacted 
by climate change; and 
(3) to professional associations for projects that 
build capacity at the State and national levels for 
continuing education by practicing professionals and 
the general public in green economy fields. 
(b) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION OFFICE.—There 
shall be, within the Office of Education of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Climate 
Change Education Office to administer the grant program 
required by subsection (a). 
SEC. 6. REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration shall submit to Congress a report that evaluates 
the scientific merits, educational effectiveness, and broad-
er effects of activities carried out under this Act. 
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SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na-
tional 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric 
Administration 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 
to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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