Error processing SSI file No Child Left Inside Description of NCLI and what it will do Missouri NCLI Working Group (names, affiliations, who to contact) No Child Left Inside National Homepage (current efforts and news) Missouri Representatives who are cosponsoring the legislation Description of NCLI An Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP) is a comprehensive, integrated plan for incorporating environmental education into public schools. The No Child Left Inside Act (NCLI) provides financial support for states that have an Environmental Literacy Plan on file with their state department of education. There are six major elements in an ELP: Why is Environmental Literacy important? Missouri's NCLI Working Group Coordinator: Jenna Rhodes, Grandview H.S. and Missouri Environmental Education Association contact: 816.316.5874 or jenna.rhodes@csd4.k12.mo.us In July the working group met with delegations from Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska at a summit in Nebraska City. The first draft of the action plan was created and brought back to each state to work on. The Missouri leadership team has been working on each of the six elements to move them forward. We meet monthly either by conference call or face-to-face meetings. Our deadline for completion of the plan is September 2010. No Child Left Inside (NCLI) National Home Page (sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation) - http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=687 A Summary of NCLI's Provisions *Please note that the following information is for the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008. 1. State Environmental Literacy Plans NCLB Title II To qualify for environmental education grant monies under Title II and Title V, a state educational agency must develop and submit a K-12 plan to the United States Department of Education for peer review and approval that will ensure that elementary and secondary school students are environmentally literate. The plan will be submitted by the state educational agency in consultation with state natural resource and environmental agencies and with input from the public. A state educational agency may submit an existing state plan that has been developed by or in cooperation with state environmental organizations provided that the plan meets specified requirements. State plans must include: relevant content standards, content areas, and courses or subjects where instruction will take place; a description of the relationship of the plan to state graduation requirements; a description of programs for professional development of teachers to improve their environmental content knowledge, skill in teaching about environmental issues, and field-based pedagogical skills; a description of how the state educational agency will measure the environmental literacy of students; and a description of how the state educational agency will implement the plan, including securing funding and other necessary support. A state educational agency may use state funds for the development of the State Environmental Literacy Plan 1. 2. Grants for Enhancing Education through Environmental Education NCLB Title II Creates an environmental education grant program for teacher professional development and student programs (modeled on the Math/Science Partnership in Title II of NCLB). The purpose of this grant program is to ensure the academic achievement of students in environmental literacy through the professional development of teachers and educators and outdoor learning experiences for students. One hundred million dollars are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this grant program and the state environmental literacy plans (2) for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. The United States Department of Education awards grants to state educational agencies, to whom eligible partnerships apply for these grants. Eligible partnerships include a local educational agency and may include: a teacher training department of an institution of higher education; an environmental department of an institution of higher education; another local education agency, a public charter school, a public or private (3) elementary school or secondary school, or a consortium of such schools; a state environmental or natural resource management agency or a local environmental or natural resource management agency (4); a business (5); or a nonprofit or for-profit organization of demonstrated effectiveness in improving the quality of environmental education teachers, such as through outdoor environmental education experiences (6). 3. Environmental Education Grant Program to Help Build National Capacity NCLB Title V Creates an environmental education grant program to help build national capacity by providing funds for the development, improvement, and advancement of environmental education. This grant program also supports the dissemination of proven environmental educational models, studies of national significance, and the development of new state or national financing sources for environmental education. Eligible recipients of these grants from the United States Department of Education include nonprofit organizations, state educational agencies, local educational agencies, or institutions of higher education that have demonstrated expertise and experience in the development of the institutional, financial, intellectual, or policy resources needed to help the field of environmental education become more effective and widely practiced. 1 Sentence not included in S.1981. 2 Phrase not included in H.R.3036. 3 Word not included in S.1981. 4 Phrase not included in H.R.3036. 5 Word not included in S.1981. 6 Phrase not included in H.R.3036. Missouri Co-Sponsors of NCLI - please call or write and thank them for their support! Russ Carnahan - District 3 Emanuel Cleaver- District 5 Please contact these representatives and educate them about NCLI! Please contact your sentators as well!