School District Climate Action

Our team has written and passed two school district climate action resolutions

with the goal of showing youth across the nation that they have the power to fight for what they believe in and make meaningful environmental policy change.

Tucson Unified School District

Passed on October 29, 2024.

The Resolution was entirely written, researched, and lobbied for by students ages 13-20. It is the most comprehensive of its kind in the country.

Read the Resolution here

What’s in the policy?

  • Transportation - Pledges the district to reduce vehicle idling and electrify both yellow and white fleets by 2035

    Buildings - WIll achieve LEED certification, energy efficiency and all-electric buildings by 2035. Pledges to implement EV charging infrastructure for the vehicles.

    • Complete electrification by 2035, half by 2030.

    • Commits the district to by powered by 100% clean energy by 2035.

    • Phased Divestment from Fossil Fuels

    • Locally Sourced and sustainable food

    • No single-use plastic, implementation of composting program and will reduce waste

    • incentives for walking/biking/public transit

  • Heat Resiliency - Creation of an extreme heat preparedness plan; designate cooling centers. Will use heat-resilient building materials.

    Water - Creation of a water use inventory, installation of water-efficient appliances and efficient irrigation systems

    Grid Outage - Battery backup systems in case of grid outage

    • Implementation of a comprehensive climate curriculum

    • Incorporation of Climate workforce development

    • Uses Existing funds from the recent TUSD bond

    • Emphasis on grants from private and public sector

    • money from Inflation reduction act

    • Equity Commitments ensure TUSD is held to a high standard of implementing fairly across the district

    • Staff will create a comprehensive climate action plan.

    • A climate champion will be identified that will direct implementation.

    • Does not allow for use of carbon credits to offset emissions

    • considers the social cost of Greenhouse gases

    • Public Website with a dashboard tracking multiple metrics

TUSD Press

TUSD Press

Press Release

Phoenix Union High School District

Modeled after the TUSD Climate Action Resolution, the PXU Climate Action Resolution was entirely written, researched, and lobbied for by students ages 11-22.

It is the first high school district Climate Resolution in the state of Arizona.

Passed on March 5th, 2026

Read the Resolution here

What’s in the Resolution?

  • PXU is already prioritizing sustainability in ways they don’t even know. The District is committed to conducting self-audits on the following departments to determine steps forward:

    • Greenhouse gas emissions

    • Water usage and conservation

    • School gardening and environmental education

    • EVs and electrification

  • Transition to electric vehicles when applicable, building necessary infrastructure along with it.

  • Follow LEED certification practices in all future building and infrastructure projects.

    • Incorporate sustainability into current and future curriculum.

    • Build gardens on every campus

    • Foster learning and practicing sustainability within students, allowing for environmental career exploration

  • Ensure all future climate action is equitable and applicable to all students on all campuses across the Valley.

  • All climate action done by the District will include student, staff, faculty, and community input. A youth-written Resolution calls for a youth-centered solution.

  • The District will draft a detailed Climate Action Plan that outlines how and when all the above actions will be done, involving students and community partners in the process.

    • Student-led Climate Task Force formed Fall 2026

    • First draft of Climate Action Plan Spring 2027

    • Implementation of Climate Action Plan Fall 2028

    • Annual update of the Climate Action Plan following its implementation