Bill Text: NY A00264 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the department of education to establish an education for environmental sustainability program to teach children the importance of conserving and protecting our environment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to education [A00264 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A00264-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
264
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH, COLTON, JACOBS, JAFFEE, MARKEY, MILL-
MAN, STEVENSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND, BRENNAN,
GUNTHER, MAISEL, THIELE, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT establishing the New York state environmental sustainability
education act
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York
2 State Environmental Sustainability Education Act".
3 S 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that:
4 1. In recognition of the United Nations Decade of Education for
5 Sustainable Development (2005-2014), as declared at the Johannesburg
6 Summit of 2002, New York state deems it imperative to develop and imple-
7 ment an educational program geared towards improving the capacity of
8 people to address environmental issues in the 21st century.
9 2. Our ability to fulfill our responsibility to equip New York's citi-
10 zens with the required knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to
11 create a sustainable future and enhance our quality of life have never
12 been more critical.
13 3. More than any other time in recent history, New York's citizens
14 have the capacity to dramatically affect their natural environment, and
15 mitigate and possibly reverse our society's negative impact on our
16 natural surroundings.
17 4. New technologies and research have availed unparalleled opportu-
18 nities for us to develop and protect resources in a manner that enables
19 people to meet current needs, while also providing that future gener-
20 ations can meet future needs.
21 5. To successfully confront these environmental concerns and sensitiv-
22 ities, we must put forth a vision of education that seeks to empower
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02321-01-3
A. 264 2
1 people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable
2 future.
3 S 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this act, the following words
4 shall have the following meanings:
5 1. "Sustainability" shall mean development that meets the needs of the
6 present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
7 their own needs. Development that occurs in such a way ensures the
8 capacity of the natural environment to meet present and future needs.
9 2. "Education for sustainability" (EFS) means to promote an under-
10 standing of the interconnectedness of environment, economy and society.
11 EFS links this understanding with inquiry and action to help students
12 build a healthy future for their communities and for the planet. EFS
13 fosters the ability to integrate scientific, economic and social know-
14 ledge and makes education more pertinent to the changing world by moving
15 beyond institutional boundaries of the disciplines and their content
16 bias. EFS helps students identify their role in local communities and
17 suggests ways to get involved. EFS shall consist of educational activ-
18 ities and training activities involving elementary and secondary
19 students (K-12), as such terms are defined in the education law and by
20 environmental education personnel.
21 S 4. Legislative directives and programs.
22 1. The department of education is hereby required to establish a model
23 program to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of a
24 comprehensive environmental sustainability education program to be made
25 available to public schools, and assist them in developing curricula and
26 training staff to adequately prepare students to participate as active
27 and involved citizens in building a sustainable future.
28 2. The program shall be developed by the department of education, in
29 conjunction with the department of environmental conservation, and
30 modeled to promote and enhance an understanding of the concepts of
31 sustainability and improve understanding of the natural and built envi-
32 ronment, and the relationships between humans and the environment,
33 including local and global aspects of environmental problems.
34 3. The education for sustainability program shall be constructed in
35 line with the following principles:
36 a. A program that fosters clear awareness of, and concern for, econom-
37 ic, social, political and ecological interdependence in all regions of
38 New York, the United States and the world.
39 b. One that endorses an approach to teaching and learning that inte-
40 grates the goals and benefits of conservation, social justice, renewable
41 energy, cultural diversity and sustainable development into a vision for
42 social improvement.
43 c. One that ensures that students appreciate and respect the intrinsic
44 value of the whole environment, and develop an ethic of personal respon-
45 sibility and stewardship towards all aspects of the environment.
46 d. One that encourages students to participate as active and involved
47 citizens in building a sustainable future.
48 e. One that fosters appropriate applications of technology that help
49 solve, not create, problems.
50 4. The sustainability education program shall include, but not be
51 limited to, the following specific features:
52 a. The program shall be designed and tailored appropriately to suit
53 all age groups covered by the K-12 state curriculum and the department
54 shall design lesson plans and teaching strategies that are age appropri-
55 ate. The department of education shall reserve the right to include or
56 omit certain specified program requirements (listed below in this subdi-
A. 264 3
1 vision) when tailoring the principles of sustainability to be taught at
2 each grade level, depending on the suitability of the lesson's instruc-
3 tion at each grade interval.
4 b. The program shall specifically enumerate the key topic/issue areas
5 to be studied, and shall integrate environmental education for sustaina-
6 bility issues and topics into specific key learning areas/subjects
7 located within the broader curriculum framework such as creative arts,
8 English, health and physical education, languages, mathematics and
9 economics, science and geography, history and studies of society, envi-
10 ronment and technology. The principles of sustainability shall be
11 presented and integrated wherever appropriate.
12 c. The program shall promote education for sustainable development
13 'perspectives' across learning areas to include cross-curricular units,
14 complementary teaching across several subjects, special projects,
15 performances, excursions, and visiting experts. The program may also
16 provide for collaborative projects with other schools (locally and
17 globally) to promote equity, inclusivity, and respect for all people.
18 d. The program shall raise awareness of the nature and function of
19 ecological, social, economic and political systems and how they are
20 interrelated in addressing environmental and sustainability issues.
21 e. The program shall underscore the impact that people, business,
22 industry and government have on environments and how the environment
23 shapes human activities, with particular reference to unique and
24 distinctive New York heritage traditions and settings, connecting past,
25 present, and future perspectives and/or impacts.
26 f. The program shall emphasize the role of cultural, socioeconomic and
27 political systems in environmental decision-making.
28 g. The program shall reinforce the value of innovative technologies
29 with the aim to produce places, products and services in a way that
30 reduces use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental impact,
31 relates people with the natural environment, and conveys the importance
32 of creating and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle.
33 h. The program shall include assessment strategies that emphasize
34 problem-solving, teamwork, decision-making, holistic thinking, clarify-
35 ing and analyzing values and opportunities for action, in order to gauge
36 and improve the effectiveness and relevance of the program.
37 S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
