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California is currently poised to lead the nation in environmental literacy. This effort is termed the EEI. The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) and the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) are actively engaged in the implementation of the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) pursuant to AB 1548 (Pavley, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2003-PDF) and AB 1721 (Pavley, Chapter 581, Statutes of 2005-PDF). These landmark laws mandate the development of a unified education strategy to bring education about the environment into California’s primary and secondary schools. Other current key partners include the State Board of Education, the Office of the Secretary for Education, the Curriculum and Supplemental Materials Commission, the State Department of Education, and the California Resources Agency.

Key elements of EEI include:

• Development of California’s Environmental Principles & Concepts, (EP&Cs);
• Alignment of the EP&C’s to California’s Academic Content Standards;
• Development of a Model Curriculum to teach the EP&C’s to California’s K-12 students;
• Incorporation of the EP&C’s into criteria for instructional materials adoption in science, history/social science, English/language arts and, mathematics; and,
• Alignment of the state’s diverse environmental education programs and materials with the EP&C’s.

The development and implementation of the EEI mandates will occur in Phases 1-7.

 

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