Republicans tried Tuesday to kill a proposal that would establish a $3 million program to train climate science teachers in Maine, but the bill, which has generated a lot of support from teachers, sailed through committee along party lines.
Legislative opponents said the bill, sponsored by Rep. Lydia Blume, D-York, would give environmental groups too much influence over the teachers they would help train, and could encourage some teachers to spend too much class time on climate science.
“A science teacher, in a high school specifically, should not be focusing on just one area,” said Rep. Heidi Sampson, R-Alfred. “Science is a broad subject. I worry that this ends up taking over everything else, and I would even suggest that maybe this be an after-school club.”
But Republican opposition didn’t stop the bill, L.D. 1902, from passing through the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee by an 8-4 vote Tuesday. The final language, including a minor amendment and a fiscal note, must be completed before it heads to the full Legislature for consideration.
Sen. Matthea Daughtry, D-Brunswick, said teachers who live or teach in her district say their schools don’t have enough money to provide professional development in climate science. But it was students’ excitement over the bill that won her over, she said.
“I heard from a lot of students who got really excited about this,” Daughtry said. “It provides a really amazing opportunity to sort of harness the passion of talking about the climate crisis and how they can impact change.”
The bill would create a $3 million pilot program that would have the Maine Department of Education award grants to school districts so they could partner with community-based nonprofits to train teachers and support the development of climate science courses.
The bill has drawn support from dozens of public school teachers, students and teachers groups. Advocates have said existing teacher training opportunities focus on teaching methods, not subject matter, and up-to-date, vetted data is especially important in the evolving field of climate science.
Rep. Sheila Lyman, R-Livermore Falls, said that an eager teacher already can look to the science standards Maine adopted in 2019 to teach climate science in exciting ways. Lyman, a recently retired teacher, said training opportunities are there if teachers want them.
But Blume, the sponsor, said Maine science teachers are specifically seeking climate science training. The Maine Science Teachers Association has identified it as its number one training need, she said. A conversation with a Sanford science teacher inspired Blume to introduce the bill.
“That was the reason for the bill from the get-go,” Blume told the committee. “They don’t have the resources. The science is ever changing and there’s a lot of information and it’s rapidly coming at them. (Teachers) want this.”
In response to concerns about undue influence, the committee did agree to amend the bill to limit sources of funding for the pilot program to state and federal funds. One opponent had worried that special interest groups would try to buy access in hopes of shaping statewide curriculum.
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