A Long-Awaited Step Forward

Environmental education was handed a “big win” last month when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee reported the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) out of committee with a bi-partisan vote of 15-7.

Prior to the vote, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) offered his “well-rounded education” amendment which grants states access to funds that would help build curricula for previously ignored subjects—subjects including arts, civics and government, economics, financial literacy, foreign languages, geography, history, physical education, social studies, and the environment. This amendment provides a huge boost for getting Project Learning Tree into more schools.

ESEA is an overhaul of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act—an act that focused on core subjects and testing, often leaving teachers little time for the previously listed subjects. We have been looking for ways to include environmental education into larger federal legislation, and yesterday’s amendment was a huge step forward for Project Learning Tree.

If your Senator, like Mr. Casey, sits on the HELP Committee—send them a note to thank them for their support of environmental education. We are proud to have such strong champions for environmental education in Congress.

But the fight is still not over.  PLEASE urge your Members of Congress to support the No Child Left Inside Act (NCLI) and co-sponsor the Bill for the health of our students, the health of our schools and the health of our valuable natural resources. 

Over the past few years, we have been following the progress of NCLI through Congress.  NCLI would offer great incentives and resources for environmental education, encouraging more teachers to use programs like PLT with their students.  In 2010, PLT educators and environmental education advocates sent more than 1000 emails to their members of Congress, urging them to co-sponsor the NCLI.  In 2011, 11 PLT educators and coordinators visited to Washington, D.C. to meet with their members of Congress—urging them to support policies, like NCLI, that help get PLT into more schools. 

Over the years, more than 2000 organizations and businesses have joined the NCLI Coalition.  Well over 100 Representatives and Senators have signed onto the bill, and a modified version of NCLI passed the House of Representatives in 2009.  In 2010, the House Education and Workforce Committee listed NCLI as one of its top priorities. 

In spite of the overwhelming support, NCLI has failed to pass Congress and become law. 

One of the largest roadblocks for NCLI has been the slow-moving ESEA Reauthorization.  Congress rarely takes up stand-alone bills like NCLI.  Often these bills pass as an attachment of a larger piece of legislation.  ESEA is a huge piece of legislation to move, but now that the bill has momentum, we hope to see more good news for NCLI and environmental education.