*Breaking News*
MD First Environmental Literacy Graduation Requirement in U.S.?
Public Comment Period Open Now!
On July 16th, MSDE published a proposed environmental literacy graduation requirement and has now opened a 30-day public comment period ending August 16, 2010. Your supportive comments are needed! Visit our LATEST UPDATE page for contact info & important key points to hit in your comments and click here to visit our Key Questions & Answers page for info on this groundbreaking initiative!
Education Week discusses the potential MD environmental literacy graduation requirement as well as the NCLI movement. Click to read the article.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley published an op-ed about the importance of environmental literacy in the Baltimore Sun on July 27th. Click to read the article.
The MDNCLI Coalition is now 219+ organizations strong, representing over 630,000 Marylanders! The Coalition represents education, environment, recreation, religion, youth, health and business interests across Maryland. In addition to supporting the efforts of the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature, the MDNCLI Coalition keeps members informed of the progress of the Maryland Children in Nature recommendations and national No Child Left Inside legislation, as well as opportunities to get involved. Click here to learn more about the MDNCLI Coalition!
In April 2008, Governor O’Malley issued a groundbreaking Executive Order establishing the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature. The Maryland Partnership developed a set of ten recommendations to ensure that all Maryland youth have access to recreational and educational outdoor experiences and graduate environmentally literate. Click here to learn more about the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature and to see the Partnership’s 10 recommendations.
The national No Child Left Inside Coalition represents over 1800+ organizations in support of legislation and efforts to get kids back outside and reconnected to nature. The No Child Left Inside Act provides for funding to train teachers to deliver high quality environmental education; incentives for states to develop State Environmental Literacy Plans; encouragement for teachers, administrators, and school systems to make time and resources available for environmental education for all students; and integration of environmental education across core subject areas.
For the first time in history, environmental literacy is included in the U.S. Department of Education budget, a major victory for No Child Left Inside. The NCLI Coalition is hopeful that the new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (formerly known as No Child Left Behind) will include language from the No Child Left Inside Act. To learn more and help support this legislation, visit www.nclicoalition.org today!