2009 California Public Resources Code - Section 71300-71305 :: Part 4. Statewide Environmental Education

71300.  (a) For purposes of this part "office" means the Office of
Education and the Environment of the California Environmental
Protection Agency, as established pursuant to this section.
   (b) The Office of Education and the Environment is hereby
established in the California Environmental Protection Agency. The
office shall report to the Secretary for Environmental Protection.
The office shall dedicate its effort to implementing the statewide
environmental educational program prescribed pursuant to this part.
The office, through staffing and resources, shall give a high
priority to implementing the statewide environmental education
program.
   (c) The office, under the direction of the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the State Department of
Education, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary for
Education, shall develop and implement a unified education strategy
on the environment for elementary and secondary schools in the state.
The office shall develop a unified education strategy to do all of
the following:
   (1) Coordinate instructional resources and strategies for
providing active pupil participation with onsite conservation
efforts.
   (2) Promote service-learning opportunities between schools and
local communities.
   (3) Assess the impact to participating pupils of the unified
education strategy on pupil achievement and resource conservation.
   (4) On or before June 30, 2006, the office shall report to the
Legislature and the Governor on its progress in developing,
implementing, and assessing the unified education strategy.
   (d) The State Department of Education, State Board of Education,
and Secretary for Education shall develop and implement to the extent
feasible, a teacher training and implementation plan, to guide the
implementation of the unified education strategy, for the education
of pupils, faculty, and administrators on the importance of
integrating environmental concepts and programs in schools throughout
the state. The strategy shall project the phased implementation of
elementary, middle, and high school programs.
   (e) In implementing this part, the office may hold public meetings
to receive and respond to comments from affected state agencies,
stakeholders, and the public regarding the development of resources
and materials pursuant to this part.
   (f) In implementing this part, the office shall coordinate with
other agencies and groups with expertise in education and the
environment, including, but not limited to, the California
Environmental Education Interagency Network.
   (g) Any instructional materials developed pursuant to this part
shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 60000) of Part 33 of the Education Code, including, but not
limited to, reviews for legal and social compliance before the
materials may be used in elementary or secondary public schools.

71301.  (a) As part of the unified education strategy, the office,
under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in
cooperation with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department
of Education, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary for
Education, shall develop education principles for the environment for
elementary and secondary school pupils. The principles may be
updated every four years beginning July 1, 2008. The principles shall
be aligned to the academic content standards adopted by the State
Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605 of the Education Code.
The principles shall be used to do all of the following:
   (1) To direct state agencies that include environmental education
components for elementary and secondary education in regulatory
decisions or enforcement actions.
   (2) To align state agency environmental education programs and
materials that are developed for elementary and secondary education.
   (b) The education principles for the environment shall include,
but not be limited to, concepts relating to the following topics:
   (1) Environmental sustainability.
   (2) Water.
   (3) Air.
   (4) Energy.
   (5) Forestry.
   (6) Fish and wildlife resources.
   (7) Oceans.
   (8) Toxics and hazardous waste.
   (9) Integrated waste management.
   (10) Integrated pest management.
   (11) Public health and the environment.
   (12) Pollution prevention.
   (13) Resource conservation and recycling.
   (14) Environmental justice.
   (c) The principles shall be aligned to the applicable academic
content standards adopted by the State Board of Education and shall
not duplicate or conflict with any academic content standards.
   (d) (1)  The education principles for the environment shall be
incorporated, as the State Board of Education determines to be
appropriate, in criteria developed for textbook adoption required
pursuant to Section 60200 or 60400 of the Education Code in Science,
Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and History/Social Sciences.
   (2) If the State Board of Education determines that the education
principles for the environment are not appropriate for inclusion in
the textbook adoption criteria cited in paragraph (1), the State
Board of Education shall collaborate with the office to make the
changes necessary to ensure that the principles are included in the
textbook adoption criteria in Science, Mathematics, English/Language
Arts, and History/Social Sciences.
   (e) If the content standards required pursuant to Section 60605 of
the Education Code are revised, the education principles for the
environment shall be appropriately considered for inclusion into part
of the revised academic content standards.

71302.  (a) Using the education principles for the environment
required in Section 71301, the office, under the direction of the
Secretary for Environmental Protection, shall develop, in cooperation
with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department of
Education, and the State Board of Education, a model environmental
curriculum that incorporates these education principles for the
environment. The model curriculum shall be aligned with applicable
State Board of Education adopted academic content standards in
Science, Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and History/Social
Sciences, to the extent that any of those content areas are addressed
in the model curriculum.
   (b) The model curriculum shall be submitted to the Curriculum
Development and Supplemental Materials Commission for review. The
commission shall submit its recommendation to the Secretary for
Environmental Protection and to the Secretary of the Natural
Resources Agency by July 1, 2005.
   (1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary
of the Natural Resources Agency shall review and comment on the model
curriculum by January 1, 2006.
   (2) The model curriculum along with the comments by the Secretary
for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural
Resources Agency shall be submitted to the State Board of Education
for its approval.

71303.  (a) As determined appropriate by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the State Department of Education shall
incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum
resources for teacher use, those materials developed by the office
that provide information on the education principles for the
environment required in Section 71300.
   (b) If the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that
materials developed by the office that provide information on the
education principles for the environment are not appropriate for
inclusion in publications that provide examples of curriculum
resources for teacher use, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall collaborate with the office to make the changes necessary to
ensure that the materials are included in that information.
   (c) The model environmental curriculum approved by the State Board
of Education, pursuant to Section 71302 shall be made available by
the office to elementary and secondary schools to the extent that
funds are available for this purpose. The State Department of
Education shall make the model curriculum available electronically
including posting the model curriculum on its Internet Web site.
   (d) The State Department of Education, to the extent feasible and
to the extent that funds are available for this purpose, shall
encourage the development and use of instructional materials and
active pupil participation in campus and community environmental
education programs. To the extent feasible, the environmental
education programs should be considered in the development and
promotion of after school programs for elementary and secondary
school pupils and state and local professional development activities
to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist
in teaching about the environment.
   (e) (1) The California Environmental Protection Agency shall
assume costs associated with the printing of the approved model
curriculum as set forth in subdivision (c). The California
Environmental Protection Agency shall use, for these purposes, funds
that are available for its administrative costs.
   (2) From funds available for its administrative costs, the State
Department of Education shall post and maintain the model curriculum
on its Internet Web site and pay any costs associated with any
related online questionnaire on its Internet Web site as set forth in
subdivision (c).
   (3) The State Department of Education shall explore implementation
of this section from its baseline resources dedicated to this
purpose and if funding is not available from that source, then
funding may be provided to the department, pursuant to appropriation
by the Legislature, under Section 71305.

71304.  (a) The office, under the direction of the Secretary for
Environmental Protection, shall be responsible for the statewide
coordination of regulatory administrative decisions that require the
development or encourage the promotion of environmental education for
elementary and secondary school pupils.
   (b) All California Environmental Protection Agency or Natural
Resources Agency boards, departments, or offices that take regulatory
actions or take enforcement actions requiring the development of, or
encouraging the promotion of, environmental education for elementary
and secondary school pupils shall, prior to adoption or approval of
the action, seek comments on the action from the office in order to
promote consistency with this part and cross-media coordination.
   (c) The office shall coordinate with all state agencies to develop
and distribute environmental education materials.

71305.  (a) The Environmental Education Account is hereby
established within the State Treasury. Moneys in the account may,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the California
Environmental Protection Agency for the purposes of this part. The
Secretary for Environmental Protection shall administer this part,
including, but not limited to, the account.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
the agency may accept and receive federal, state, and local funds and
contributions of funds from a public or private organization or
individual. The account may also receive proceeds from a judgment in
state or federal court, when the funds are contributed or the
judgment specifies that the proceeds are to be used for the purposes
of this part. The account may receive those funds, contributions, or
proceeds from judgments, that are specifically designated for use for
environmental education purposes. Private contributors shall not
have the authority to further influence or direct the use of their
contributions.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a state agency
that requires the development of, or encourages the promotion of,
environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils,
may contribute to the account.
   (d) The agency shall immediately deposit any funds contributed
pursuant to subdivision (b) into the account.