Environmental Education and the No Child Left Behind Act
ACTION ALERT
Urge Congress to Authorize Environmental Education in the No Child Left Behind Act
Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island recently introduced legislation that strengthens and expands environmental education in America's classrooms and reconnects children with nature. These bills, each entitled the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007, were introduced in the House (H.R.3036) and the Senate (S.1981). Please encourage your senators and representative to support the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 and help get its provisions included in the House and Senate bills that reauthorize the No Child Left Behind law.
With the nation facing complicated environmental issues that will challenge us for years to come, it is critical that schools provide students with a solid grounding in environmental education. But because of the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), many schools are scaling back or eliminating environmental education programs. Congress has the opportunity to change this as it reauthorizes NCLB. Learn more about environmental environment and NCLB at www.eeNCLB.org.
The No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 amends the NCLB law in the following ways:
Provides federal funding to states to train teachers in environmental education and to operate model environmental education programs, which include outdoor learning.
Provides funding to states that create environmental literacy plans to ensure that high school graduates are environmentally literate.
Provides funding through an environmental education grant program to build state and national capacity.
Re-establishes the Office of Environmental Education within the U.S. Department of Education.
Help us guarantee that no student is left inside when it comes to learning about their environment.
1. Fax or email a letter urging your legislators to support the inclusion of environmental education in the No Child Left Behind reauthorization bill as proposed in the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007. Go to www.eeNCLB.org to send a letter.
2. After sending your email or fax, call each of your legislators' offices and ask to speak to the education staff person. Tell them how important it is that your legislator support the No Child Left Inside Act.
3. If you are willing, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper telling them how important environmental education and outdoor learning are to you, your family, and your community. Use the guidelines provided on www.eenclb.org. If it is published, please send a copy to Vanessa Bullwinkle at 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 780, Washington, DC 20036 or vbullwinkle@plt.org.
4. Send this action alert to your friends, family, and colleagues and ask them to contact their representative and senators.
By making a few changes to NCLB, we can dramatically improve our schools' ability to prepare children for real-world challenges and careers - and ensure an environmentally sustainable future.
Note: "No Child Left Inside" is used with permission from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
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