Info on AB1330: (1548 info below)
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1330, Simitian. Outdoor Environmental Education Program.
Approved
by the Governor on October 2, 2003
Read the text of this bill online | Download as pdf file
Existing law contains legislative findings and declarations regarding the need for an educational program that is designed to build attitudes of stewardship toward the maintenance of the quality of our environment and to enable all citizens to use resources wisely.
This bill would establish the Outdoor Environmental Education Program, the purpose of which is to foster stewardship of the environment and an appreciation of the importance of the wise use of natural resources. The bill would require the State Department of Education to administer the program and, according to a priority system to be developed by the department, select applicants for participation in the program, pursuant to prescribed criteria. The bill would require the department to contract with an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of the program and submit a report to the Legislature no later than February 1, 2005. The bill would provide that the program and its evaluation be implemented only if the Department of Finance determines that private funds are made available for purposes of the costs of the program and its evaluation.
This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2005, and repeal them on January 1, 2006.
Read News Article about this bill
Read
about the research that was done and the results of the research here:
http://aeoe.org/resources/research/
News Flash - AB 1548 passed - now referred to as the Initiative on Education and the Environment
Link to more information about this bill from Heal the Bay, the bill's sponsor
Link to the Cal EPA website set up to track this important bill
Seeking input on the Education and the Environment Initiative
Existing law establishes the Office of Integrated Environmental Education within
the Integrated Waste Management Board, and requires the office to develop and
implement a unified education strategy on the environment for elementary and
secondary schools.
This bill would repeal those provisions and, instead, establish the Office of
Education and the Environment with similar duties. The bill would require the
Office of Education and the Environment to report to both the Secretary for Environmental
Protection and to the board.
This bill would require the office to develop education principles for the environment
for elementary and secondary school pupils by July 1, 2004, as prescribed. The
bill would require the office to develop a model curriculum incorporating these
principles and to submit the model curriculum for consideration and approval,
as prescribed.
The bill would require the State Department of Education to incorporate the materials
developed by the office into prescribed publications, and would require the State
Department of Education to make the curriculum available electronically. The
bill would require the office to coordinate with all state agencies, as prescribed.
Existing law requires school district governing boards, when adopting instructional
materials for use in schools, to include only materials that accurately portray
prescribed conditions.
This bill would, in addition, require the governing boards, when adopting instructional
materials to include only materials that accurately portray the educational principles
for the environment, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
This bill would establish the Environmental Education Account and would authorize
deposit of funds from prescribed sources for expenditure for the purposes of
this bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and
school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions
establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of
a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed
$1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
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