A major win for youth advocacy: Oregon Teen Helps Pass Climate & Sustainability Education Law
Oregon has passed a new law requiring climate change and sustainability to be integrated across school subjects — thanks in large part to the persistence of Mikayla May, a student at Caldera High School in Central Oregon.
Mikayla became the driving force behind House Bill 3365 after noticing that her classes taught the science of climate change but not the solutions. “We’re only taught the problems and the causes of climate change,” she said. “We don’t learn anything about the solutions.” Determined to change that, Mikayla partnered with Oregon Educators for Climate Education and testified before lawmakers, helping push the bill through the 2025 legislature.
Signed by Governor Tina Kotek in June 2025, the law requires the Oregon Department of Education to “include an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability and climate change across all subjects…” The goal is to ensure every student learns about both the causes of climate change and strategies for mitigating and adapting to it. Advocates say this is about connecting the dots across disciplines: teachers are encouraged to explore local wildfire impacts in science, climate migration in history, or green jobs in economics.
The bill matters because it shifts climate education from fear to empowerment. Instead of leaving students overwhelmed, it equips them with understanding, agency, and hope.
At the Cloud Institute, we are all about developing a vision for the future we want and equipping students with the knowledge and skills to do so. We are strong advocate of educating FOR sustainability rather than education ABOUT un-sustainability and we could not be prouder to share this vision with Mikayla and many other young people.
If you want to learn more about the difference between education for sustainability vs unsustainability, watch this TedTalk from Jaimie Cloud: