No Child Left Inside Act Reintroduced
Unable to have the bill become law in the last Congress, Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD) along with 47 cosponsors in the House and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) with 13 cosponsors in the Senate introduced the No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 (Act). In reference to the Act Representative Sarbanes stated:
“We must educate our youth to be environmental stewards and grow the next generation of scientists and innovators to solve our energy and environmental challenges,”….“By preparing the next generation to meet these challenges, we will accomplish environmental, economic and national security policy objectives in one fell swoop.”
The Act sites several key findings concerning environmental education including:
“Environmental education is essential for--
(A) enhancing student learning and problem solving skills, especially in science;
(B) creating responsible and engaged citizens; and
(C) producing graduates who are prepared to address the challenges, adjustments, and opportunities that will be present in the life and the workforce of the 21st century due to threats to human health, economical development, biological diversity, and national security arising from environmental stresses.”
The Act is broken into three subsections.
1. Environmental Literacy Plans
2. Establishment of Environmental Education Professionals Development Grant Programs
3. Environmental Education Grant Program to Help Build National Capacity.
The Environmental Literacy Plans are meant to detail how students are to be taught environmental education, while the Establishment of Environmental Education Professionals Development Grant Programs is geared toward teachers and professional development. The purpose of the Environmental Education Grant Program to Help Build National Capacity is very similar to the Environmental Literacy Plans, but it also includes incorporating environmental education into the “elementary school and secondary school curricula.”
If passed, the Act would provide $100,000,000 in FY10 and again in the next four fiscal years. So far, the Act has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
