EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE

In October 2003, the Governor signed into law the Education and the Environment Initiative (Pavley, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2003). This landmark law, now referred to as the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI), provides a comprehensive framework for bringing environment-based education to students across California. The major components of this “unified education strategy” include:

• development of California’s first ever environmental principles and concepts
• design, development and dissemination of a standards-based model curriculum to teach the environmental principles and concepts to students in kindergarten through 12th grade
• incorporation of the environmental principles and concepts into the State Board of Education’s criteria for adopting science, mathematics, English/language arts, and history/social sciences textbooks
• reorientation of the state’s existing environmental education programs to support learning of the environmental principles and concepts

The California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Integrated Waste Management Board are actively engaged in the implementation of the EEI (the Water Boards have ensured that this service learning program closely follows this initiative). This important work is occurring in close collaboration with California’s State Board of Education, Department of Education, Office of the Secretary for Education, and the Resources Agency. The government agencies that are collaborating in the EEI have been joined by a broad-based group of partners from business and industry, educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and professional organizations to ensure its successful implementation.

For more information on the Education and the Environment, please visit www.calepa.ca.gov/Education/EEI