|
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Tim Ryan today joined a
majority of his colleagues in the House of Representatives and approved
bipartisan legislation that will strengthen environmental educational
experiences for America’s school children both in and out of the classroom.
The bill, No Child Left Inside Act, improves existing
environmental education programs by providing states
with resources to train teachers, develop research based programs and create
environmental literacy plans to ensure that students understand the role of the
environment as a natural resource.
“We need to make sure that in addition to math and science
education, environmental education takes center stage in education. We need our
students to be more physically active, and this bill will do that,” said
Congressman Ryan. “Environmental education will lead our students to want to
study science, and being outdoors will raise their awareness of the environment
and the need to preserve it.”
This bill will enable schools
and states to enhance and expand environmental education programs by extending
the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, which provides funding for
teacher training and support programs. States will be able to develop and
implement academic standards for environmental education, and states and schools
will be able to use outdoor environmental activities as part of their academic
curricula. This bill also creates a competitive grant program to help
non-profits, state and local education agencies, and institutions of higher
education create and strengthen state environmental literacy plans.
The No Child Left Inside Act is supported by a broad
coalition of environmental and education organizations including the National
Wildlife Association and the YMCA of the USA.
“Getting children outdoors, especially in an educational
setting, is a win-win situation for schools, students and families. This is ‘out
of the box’ education, and I support it whole-heartedly.”
|
