The Board of Regents has approved changes requiring schools in New York state to start teaching students about the climate.

One high school in Tompkins County is ahead of the curve and has been teaching a climate change elective for several years.

At Dryden High School, students in the class are looking nearly 25 years into the future. Their final project is imagining how they can make their town greener.

“There’s no consequences for dreaming or thinking about ways to make it better,” said Dalia Bosworth, a student at Dryden High School.

What You Need To Know

The Board of Regents has approved changes that will require schools to start teaching about the climate

It will be required for high schoolers and middle schoolers to start learning about the climate in the fall of 2027, while kindergarden through fourth-graders will start beginning in fall of 2028

Dryden High School has already been teaching a climate elective for several years

Teacher Travis Crocker says students are eager to make a difference.

“They really are curious. They really want to make the world, not just their community or their school, but the world, a better place. And they’re willing to do a lot of work,” Crocker said.

Crocker says they’re even taking learning outside of the classroom by joining town boards to have a voice in change.

“It’s all around us and it’s a really nice place to live, and it’d be nice if it didn’t vanish and disappear and get destroyed,” Bosworth said.

Crocker says there’s an emphasis on solutions in the class so students can understand the role they can play in the climate’s future.

“Some of human impact is positive, and some of it can cause, like an inadvertent problem,” said Karen Taylor, a biology teacher at Dryden High School.

Taylor incorporates climate into her biology class and thinks teaching courses like this one can help combat misinformation.

“So, if they’re learning it in their science classrooms, they know they’re getting actual facts that science teachers specialize in. And, they’re hearing it from a source that we’re hoping they can trust,” Taylor said.

At Dryden High School, the climate change class is optional and has been offered for a handful of years.

“It’s important that widespread education about climate change and its effects and its causes is sent to the people. There are a lot of misconceptions about it as a phenomenon,” said Kai Barrow, a student at Dryden High School.

It will be required for high schoolers and middle schoolers to start learning about the climate in the fall of 2027.

“I knew of climate change. I knew some impacts. I knew that it was getting worse. But coming through this class, I’ve definitely gotten a sharper lens and stronger feel on how the world is changing and how we are affecting it,” said Reagan Burnham, a student at Dryden High School.

According to the state’s climate act dashboard, the state’s goal is to reduce emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. So far it’s achieved 34% of the 40% goal.

“We believe that in doing this work, we’re living our mission, which is to educate and empower each learner to achieve excellence and build a better world. And so we’re always on this path of continuous improvement,” said Joshua Bacigalupi, superintendent of the Dryden School District.

“My generation’s maybe left the current younger generation in this predicament, but we have to sort of work together,” Crocker said.

Grades five through eight and nine through 12 will each need to include climate curriculum by fall of 2027. Kindergarten through fourth grade will start learning about climate in their classes by fall of 2028.