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House of Representatives Approves No Child Left Inside Act to Boost Environmental Education - 9/18/2008

Media Contacts:
MaKeda Scott, (202) 225-4016

Washington, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation today that will expand and improve environmental education. The No Child Left Inside Act (H.R. 3036), approved by a vote of 293 to 109, will provide new funding to teach students about the environment.

Rep. John P. Sarbanes of Maryland, the lead House sponsor, said the NCLI Act will provide support to states to offer high-quality environmental lessons but would not impose any new mandates or requirements on schools. The bill is needed, he said, to help young people become more engaged in the natural world.

            "This initiative aims to give children opportunities outside the classroom to learn how to become our next generation of environmental stewards," Rep. Sarbanes said. "We've made real progress in ensuring that environmental education will become a priority in our schools. In Congress we are grateful to the No Child Left Inside Coalition for all of its hard work, and we're now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."

The rapidly-growing No Child Left Inside Coalition is made up of more than 745 organizations concerned with issues related to the environment, education, hunting and fishing, outdoor recreation, and public heath, as well as several businesses and faith-based organizations. The Coalition has member organizations in all 50 states and represents more than 40 million people who understand the need to teach students about their natural world and the challenges it faces.

            "This bi-partisan show of support from the House of Representatives underscores the importance of outdoor education. Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about how much time our children are spending on computer games and in front of the television set, and how little they spend outdoors learning about and becoming engaged in nature," said William C. Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a leading member of the NCLI Coalition. "Nature provides a powerfully motivating classroom. Children will carry the lessons they learn outdoors for the rest of their lives."

            The NCLI Act, as approved by the House, would authorize new spending on environmental education and would provide incentives to states to develop environmental literacy plans. Such plans will help states demonstrate how they will incorporate outdoor and environmental instruction and ensure that their graduates are environmentally literate. The federal funding could also be used by states to train teachers in environmental instruction and to create environmental programs.

             Among the groups supporting the legislation:

•      Association of Zoos and Aquariums
•       Chesapeake Bay Foundation
•       Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
•       National Education Association
•       National Wildlife Federation
•       Outdoor Industry Association
•       Sierra Club
•       YMCA USA

            Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island is the lead Senate sponsor of the No Child Left Inside Act. The House vote underscores the strong Congressional support for environmental education and sets the stage for including NCLI as part of a broader elementary and secondary education bill next Congress.

            For more information about the NCLI Coalition or the NCLI Act and a complete list of Coalition members, visit www.NCLICoalition.org.

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