Humane Education Check-In: School Mandates

Humane Education Check-Ins are an invitation for people working across the field to come together and share experiences and challenges with one another. For the third call in this series, we’ll be discussing school mandates. Humane education mandates require schools to teach things like empathy, animal protection, and environmental responsibility—though the scope and strictness of the laws differ by state. For example, while New York State has had a century-old law requiring this instruction, enforcement has been inconsistent. Globally, international policies and select countries have formalized or begun considering similar requirements. How big of a leverage point are these mandates? What’s working and what’s not? Are educators in places with mandates required to/supported in providing lessons that consider humans, (all) animals, and the environment? We’ll hear from a few people who are focused on this avenue for expanding the field of humane education before we open the floor for questions and discussion.