At today’s State Board of Education, four members voted against approving the New Jersey State Learning Standards in reading and math (one abstained) even though all  agree these new standards are vastly superior to our old reading and math  standards, which haven’t been updated since 2016.. 

Why did almost half the Board rebel against the Murphy Administration’s Department of Education?

Because the Education Department, headed by Acting Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan, inserted climate change into the math and reading instruction, at least partly due to lobbying efforts by First Lady Tammy Murphy. 

What are the objections to having children learn the science of climate change? Why shouldn’t the Governor’s wife—said to be contemplating a senatorial run—have a say in our reading and math standards? (Via Axios: “New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy is “seriously considering a run” for the seat held by embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). Also, last week Gov. and Tammy Murphy announced the “first-in-the-nation Office of Climate Change Education within the NJDOE’s Office of Innovation.”) Is there a boundary between political agendas and student instruction? What happens when a government agency overseeing public education is influenced by policy recommendations from non-educators?

You get the kind of dissension that happened at today’s Board meeting.

At the bottom of this article is NJ’s newly approved guidance for incorporating climate change across all content areas, the first state in the country to do so (and, forgive the snark, a great lead-in to a campaign ad). Six members (there were eleven present out of the full Board of thirteen) voted in favor of the new standards.. Four members voted against them and one member abstained.

Here is the relevant conversation, lightly edited, with a few parenthetical remarks for clarity.

Vice President Andrew Mulvihill: “Here we sit again with politics finding its way into education. Do the experts suggest we use climate change to teach kids math and English? We’ve had a lot of discussion in the Policy Committee and I love that the Governor’s wife is passionate about different initiatives. But when I think about initiatives, do I need to get my wife to run for Governor so as the Governor’s husband I get to put free speech and education about drug abuse into the standards? Should an unelected person’s passions be something we’re sticking into math and ELA standards? I’m going to vote against it.”

“This is the flavor of the month and we’re going to put it into every grade level and every subject. I don’t think we have the luxury of it. Only half our kids can pass [standardized tests in] English and math. According to [JerseyCAN’s] report, in Asbury Park only 9% of kids can read. Newark is 19%, Paterson is 15%, Camden is 6%. Politics is finding its way into policy [and] we should stick to reading and math.”

Commissioner Allen-McMillan: “It is incumbent upon me to respond.  I respect your position but the First Lady of the State of New Jersey is a champion for improving the lives of residents.  Your view is myopic and we must broaden our horizons and not leave any disciplines behind. This is not an opportunity to indoctrinate but a responsibility to inform. After Hurricane Ida, we know we must continue on this road forward to be responsible stewards for what we want our standards to represent. I must be that voice that says, we can disagree on issues but we must not make it personal.”

Mulvihill: “I would never degrade the Governor’s wife.”

Joseph Ricca: “We are incorporating various people’s recommendations into the standards. During Policy Committee meetings I recommended we put civics education across the curriculum but I recognized this would be problematic. We are accepting recommendations that have not been vetted by experts. This is not the place for recommendations.”

“I  can’t support [these standards]. Local educators are going to take the standards, adapt the standard, use them in classrooms [based on recommendations]. I can’t get behind them, not because [of the insertion of] climate change. I can’t get behind them because you’ve opened the door.  We must say no.”

Mary Beth Berry: “These standards represent  so much wonderful work. But the climate change piece is a real concern to me. It’s a precedent. We’re looking at all our learning standards [and] approved changes in computer science, physical and sexual health, social studies, sciences, and we have  climate change in there. I’ve got my kid in school so  in every period they’ll talk about climate change? We just reviewed our QSAC scores for 105 districts [the state’s accountability rubric for school districts, which includes one category of  “Instruction and Programming” that addresses student outcomes; of the 105 districts under review, 54 failed that category due to low test scores].  I looked at the the 54 districts [that didn’t make the 80 point cut-off]. One scored only 35 points because of student performance in ELA and math. Go down to the next one, it’s because of poor student performance. Reading and math are our cornerstones. We don’t need to insert climate change into professional development. We should put  our time and energy into making sure kids are getting the literacy they need. Let’s leave ELA and math alone.”

Jack Fornaro: “We haven’t discussed the financial proposals. How much is this going to cost? Once it’s in place, it’s forever. How much will the state contribute? How about the federal government? I think we should do this as a pilot program [until] we have more information about the expense.”

Mulvihill, Ricca, Berry, and Mary Elizabeth Gazi voted “no” and Jack Fornaro abstained.

Here is the new guidance, which will go into effect in September 2025.

With the adoption of the 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), New Jersey became the first state in the nation to include climate change education across content areas.  The goal of inclusion of climate change education implementation is to foster generations of New Jersey students that can analyze, question, interpret, to think independently, and to bring critical deduction to fulfill, and to lead in jobs created by burgeoning industries of the future green economy. 

Revisions to the NJSLS—English language arts reflect the means in which humans connect through the modes of communication (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), by leveraging new technologies, media, and platforms to engage with, and learn from others. Students are using more communication tools than ever before, creating increasing opportunities for students around the world to share and problem-solve together. The ability for students to critically understand the arguments and messages shared by others and learn to effectively communicate is paramount. Informed and reasoned discussion about climate change and other important issues that affect lives daily is an essential part of participating in the public exchange of ideas.  New Jersey is developing generations of students that can create, communicate, and lead in the future green economy. 

Accompanying the 2023 NJSLS in ELA and Mathematics will be resources that identify standards that may be leveraged in support of instruction.  The symbol for climate change through the standards ( ) notes opportunities to integrate specific examples of climate change education provided by additional age-appropriate resources.  These additional materials are designed to support educators in creating interdisciplinary units focused on authentic learning experiences integrating a range of perspectives.