Environmental Justice Curriculum
Origin: Just Health Action (JHA)
Link: Click here
Summary: Published in July 2015, this new Environmental Justice curriculum is an interactive curriculum that pulls
from the “critical consciousness” pedagogy of internationally renowned scholar and educator Paulo Freire.
Talking Points & Important Information:
• Developed to encourage critical analysis and reflection, this curriculum pushes students to understand the
social, political, economic, and environmental conditions that them, as well as teach the skills to take action on
the root causes in the hope of empowering them to act and help improve community conditions and promote
equity.
• Climate change is a reality for all; however, under-served communities bear the disproportionate brunt of its
effects. The NAACP found that being a youth of color or living in a low-income community means that one is
more likely to live next to a polluting facility or in a county with air quality in violation of already lax federal
standards. And, youth of color are more likely to attend a school built on toxic, contaminated land.
• For more on incorporating an environmental justice curriculum in the classroom, click here.
2015 POLICY BOOK
SCHOOL
BOARD
LEVEL
PAGE 88