Text: HF00511 Text: HF00513 Text: HF00500 - HF00599 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM FUNDING. There
1 2 is appropriated from the environment first fund to the
1 3 department of education for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
1 4 2001, and ending June 30, 2002, the following amount, or so
1 5 much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purpose
1 6 designated:
1 7 For the environmental education program established
1 8 pursuant to this section and to sections 256.24 and 256.25:
1 9 .................................................. $ 1,000,000
1 10 1. From the funds appropriated in this section, $900,000
1 11 shall be allocated to school districts in the proportion that
1 12 the basic enrollment of a district bears to the sum of the
1 13 basic enrollments of all school districts in the state for the
1 14 budget year. School districts that receive moneys under this
1 15 section shall use the moneys to provide a three-to-five-day
1 16 residential environmental education experience for grades four
1 17 through six and grades nine through twelve.
1 18 2. From the funds appropriated in this section, $100,000
1 19 shall be used by the department of education for the
1 20 administrative costs of implementing sections 256.24 and
1 21 256.25, and to do the following:
1 22 a. Encourage schools to include in their comprehensive
1 23 school improvement plans energy efficiency measures designed
1 24 to reduce energy consumption and costs, improve the working
1 25 and classroom environment of school facilities, and reduce the
1 26 environmental impacts of school operations; outdoor
1 27 classrooms; transdisciplinary curricula; and community
1 28 outreach.
1 29 b. Hold a conference of the state's practitioner
1 30 preparation program institutions to explore the need to infuse
1 31 environmental education into the course content for all
1 32 kindergarten through grade twelve preservice teachers.
1 33 c. Maintain and update an environmental education resource
1 34 directory that is accessible to every teacher, conservation
1 35 organization, and environmental education practitioner in the
2 1 state.
2 2 d. Provide school districts and accredited nonpublic
2 3 schools with instruction specifying ways to implement
2 4 research-based best environmental education practices.
2 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 256.24 IOWA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
2 6 TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.
2 7 1. An Iowa environmental education task force is
2 8 established and is attached for administrative purposes to the
2 9 department of education.
2 10 2. The task force is composed of twenty-five members, who
2 11 shall be appointed as follows:
2 12 a. The directors of the departments of education,
2 13 agriculture and land stewardship, economic development,
2 14 natural resources, and transportation shall each appoint a
2 15 member to represent their respective departments.
2 16 b. The executive director of the state board of regents
2 17 shall appoint a member to represent the state board.
2 18 c. The governor shall appoint at least one member to
2 19 represent each of the following:
2 20 (1) Soil and water conservation districts and watershed
2 21 groups.
2 22 (2) The Iowa natural resource conservation service.
2 23 (3) The Iowa cooperative extension service in agriculture
2 24 and home economics.
2 25 (4) The Iowa conservation education council.
2 26 (5) The Iowa environmental council.
2 27 (6) County conservation boards.
2 28 (7) City chambers of commerce.
2 29 (8) Local government.
2 30 (9) Local service organizations.
2 31 (10) School districts.
2 32 (11) Commodity groups.
2 33 (12) Local nonprofit organizations.
2 34 (13) Leadership groups.
2 35 (14) Area education agencies.
3 1 3. The task force members representing state departments
3 2 and the state board of regents shall be voting members of the
3 3 commission. The remaining members of the task force shall
3 4 serve as nonvoting, advisory members.
3 5 4. The nonvoting task force members shall be appointed for
3 6 staggered terms of three years each, beginning and ending as
3 7 provided in section 69.19. Vacancies shall be filled in the
3 8 same manner as the original appointments were made.
3 9 5. Appointments to the task force are subject to the
3 10 requirements of sections 69.16 and 69.16A.
3 11 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 256.25 IOWA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
3 12 TASK FORCE – DUTIES.
3 13 The Iowa environmental education task force shall do all of
3 14 the following:
3 15 1. Conduct biennially a statewide survey to determine the
3 16 current level of environmental literacy of Iowa citizens and
3 17 educators. The task force may enter into a contract with an
3 18 impartial third party to conduct the survey.
3 19 2. Develop a community training program for citizens to
3 20 serve as both proactive and responsive resource teams as
3 21 urgent environmental matters occur.
3 22 3. Develop a statewide marketing campaign to promote
3 23 environmental education to organizations and citizens across
3 24 the state.
3 25 4. Develop a natural area inventory for each county for
3 26 distribution throughout the state by the appropriate state
3 27 agencies.
3 28 5. Identify regional environmental outreach educators to
3 29 provide educational materials and programs about soil, air,
3 30 and habitat resources to local communities through personal
3 31 contact and other educational methods.
3 32 6. Provide a minimum of one regional wild places public
3 33 management field day per year to be cosponsored by state
3 34 agencies and public and private nonprofit organizations with
3 35 land management responsibilities.
4 1 7. Form an environmental education resource subcommittee
4 2 to identify existing resources and areas of need for future
4 3 environmental education materials.
4 4 8. Develop environmental education service learning
4 5 resources and opportunities for school districts and
4 6 accredited nonpublic schools.
4 7 9. Develop examples of processes for integrating and
4 8 creating grade level benchmarks and assessment tools for
4 9 environmental education.
4 10 10. Form a subcommittee to develop a plan to recommend
4 11 ways to incorporate environmental education in practitioner
4 12 preparation coursework.
4 13 Sec. 4. TASK FORCE STUDY. The Iowa environmental
4 14 education task force established pursuant to section 256.24
4 15 shall research the feasibility of offering an environmental
4 16 education endorsement program for practitioners licensed under
4 17 chapter 272. The task force shall submit its recommendations
4 18 to the general assembly by December 15, 2001.
4 19 Sec. 5. INITIAL TERMS. Notwithstanding any contrary
4 20 provision of section 256.24, as enacted by this Act, the
4 21 governor shall designate the initial terms of nonvoting task
4 22 force members as follows: seven members to serve terms of
4 23 three years, six members to serve terms of two years, and six
4 24 members to serve terms of one year.
4 25 EXPLANATION
4 26 This bill establishes an Iowa environmental education task
4 27 force attached to the department of education, requires the
4 28 task force to study the feasibility of offering an
4 29 environmental education endorsement program for practitioners,
4 30 and appropriates moneys from the environment first fund to the
4 31 department for FY 2001-2002 for allocation on a per pupil
4 32 basis to school districts for a residential environmental
4 33 educational experience, to fund the task force, and to fund
4 34 requirements the bill directs the department to fulfill.
4 35 Of the $1 million appropriation in the bill, $900,000 is
5 1 required to be distributed to school districts to provide a
5 2 three-to-five-day residential environmental education
5 3 experience for grades 4 through 6 and 9 through 12. The
5 4 remaining $100,000 is allocated to the department for
5 5 administration of the task force and efforts by the department
5 6 to encourage schools to include energy efficiency measures,
5 7 outdoor classrooms, transdisciplinary curricula, and community
5 8 outreach in their comprehensive school improvement plans; hold
5 9 a conference to explore the need to infuse environmental
5 10 education into the course content for all K-12 preservice
5 11 teachers; maintain and update an environmental education
5 12 resource directory; and provide schools with instruction
5 13 specifying ways to implement research-based best environmental
5 14 education practices.
5 15 The task force established by the bill is composed of six
5 16 voting and 19 nonvoting, advisory members. The voting members
5 17 are representatives of the departments of education,
5 18 agriculture and land stewardship, economic development,
5 19 natural resources, and transportation, and of the state board
5 20 of regents. The bill lists the environmental and community
5 21 interests that the nonvoting, advisory members are appointed
5 22 by the governor to represent during their staggered three-year
5 23 terms.
5 24 The bill requires the task force to conduct a statewide
5 25 survey to determine the current level of environmental
5 26 literacy of Iowa citizens and educators, develop a community
5 27 training program for citizens to serve as resource teams,
5 28 develop a statewide marketing campaign to promote
5 29 environmental education, develop a natural area inventory for
5 30 each county, identify regional environmental outreach
5 31 educators to provide information to local communities, provide
5 32 at least one regional wild places public management field day
5 33 per year, form an environmental education resource
5 34 subcommittee, develop environmental education service learning
5 35 resources and opportunities for schools, develop examples of
6 1 processes for integrating and creating grade level benchmarks
6 2 and assessment tools for environmental education, and to form
6 3 a subcommittee to develop a plan to recommend ways to
6 4 incorporate environmental education in practitioner
6 5 preparation coursework.
6 6 LSB 2437YH 79
6 7 kh/gg/8
Text: HF00511 Text: HF00513 Text: HF00500 - HF00599 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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