Creating Climate-Resilient Schools in California: CAPS Advocates for Sustainable School Facilities
California schools are facing new and pressing challenges as extreme weather events, wildfires, drought, and other disruptions threaten the safety, health, and learning of the state's nearly 6 million public school students. In the 2018-2019 school year alone, over 1.25 million students in California missed school due to wildfires or other extreme weather. With schools covering 125,000 acres of land and encompassing 730 million square feet of buildings, schools are a key part of California’s infrastructure being leveraged to build climate resilience.
Along with stakeholders from across the state, CAPS has joined the Climate Ready Schools Coalition, a partnership of education, policy, environmental, business, and labor organizations. The Climate Ready Schools Coalition seeks to ensure that school infrastructure and grounds are resilient and support student health, safety, learning, play, and development in a time of rapidly increasing extreme weather.
A Master Plan for Public Schools in California
Members of the coalition published Climate-Resilient California Schools: A Call to Action. This first-of-its-kind report details the challenges of climate change from the perspective of children's health and education. The report urges California to invest $150 billion in California's public school buildings and grounds to be developed as sites of ecological resilience and sustainability in this era of rapid climate change. The coalition aims to secure students' health, safety, and learning through extreme weather events, environmental hazards, and other disruptions.
Climate-Resilient California Schools envisions schools as integral to community climate resilience. It proposes positioning California as a leader in climate education by establishing a comprehensive vision and state-level policy and investment framework for developing resilient, sustainable, healthy, and equitable schools.
Executive Director Kirk Anne Taylor testified in April to the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee in support of Senate Bill 394.
In line with the report’s recommendation, a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools was proposed to the California state legislature as Senate Bill 394, authored by Senator Lena A. Gonzalez. In April 2023, CAPS Executive Director Kirk Anne Taylor testified before California Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee to support the bill. Alongside Jeff Vincent from the UC Berkeley Center for Cities and Schools, Kirk Anne spoke about our schools' urgent need for climate action.
We are proud to be part of the coalition supporting this bill, sponsored by Undaunted K12 in partnership with the Climate Ready Schools Coalition. Our partnership with the Climate Ready School Coalition ensures school infrastructure and grounds are resilient and supports student health, safety, learning, play, and development in a time of rapidly increasing extreme weather.
Building A Liveable Future for California Students
The impact of climate change on schools and students cannot be ignored. By advocating for a master plan for achieving sustainable and climate-resilient school facilities, the coalition is working towards creating a more resilient, healthy, and equitable education system for California's students. Please read this report to learn more about it and share it with anyone interested in building a more livable future for California's students.
Join the community of people advocating for greener campuses by adding your name or your organization's name to the Climate Ready Schools Coalition letter of support!
Donate today to support critical climate action in school communities.
