PPS adopts robust climate justice policy

Passed unanimously on March 1 2022, Portland Public Schools’ Climate Crisis Response, Climate Justice and Sustainable Practices Policy is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation. Not only does the District aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, it will engage students in the planning and implementation of sustainable practices across 80 campuses, and provide leadership opportunities for frontline students to help guide policy implementation. The policy also commits to enhancing community resilience, exploring partnerships with other agencies to prepare for disaster relief, and opening empty schools as relief hubs during climate-induced heat waves and smoke events.

PPS's decision follows ongoing advocacy from young people and local climate advocates, calling on Portland officials to do their part to stabilize our climate. The effort kicked off after the massive student-led climate strikes in 2019. Twenty-five versions and 2.5 years later, Portland’s school communities now have a foundation to build on. To be clear, this work is not new: teachers and also parents engaged in the Eco-School Network have been working with the PPS Sustainability Office for more than a decade on the very issues addressed by the policy. The difference now is that there is a mandate to pursue a path toward a healthy future for all kids.

Over the next several months, the District will begin writing the Administrative Directive, translating the overarching policy into a detailed plan that will guide PPS’s many departments. They will also assemble the “Climate Crisis Response Committee” to monitor effective implementation and transparency. The committee is to be “comprised of no more than nine persons made up of a majority who identify as people of color, and two members who are current PPS students.”

In a letter of support, County Commission Chair Deborah Kafoury and Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson state: “This smart, comprehensive and ambitious policy is exactly the type of leadership we need from all corners of our community as we work together to confront the climate crisis.”

You can watch the recording of the school board meeting here.

We appreciate the many letters of support and time invested from the Families for Climate community to help get this policy over the finish line!