Florida education officials requested removal of climate change content from textbooks

An investigation by WUSF and The Hechinger Report reveals that the Florida Department of Education requested changes to science textbooks in the summer of 2024 that watered down or eliminated content regarding the climate crisis.

Specific revisions included changing “climate change” to “changes in the environment” in marine science texts and removing the word “polluting” in descriptions of coal-burning power plants. In some instances, data regarding the human mortality rates associated with climate change was replaced with more vague language about human health being affected by CO2 increases.

Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, stated that these modifications were not required to align the books with state science standards, calling the demand to weaken climate change treatment “very unusual.” While the department's specific motives remain unclear, some observers suggest the revisions may aim to protect the fossil fuel industry or avoid local community friction for teachers.