71300-71305
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 71300-71305
71300. (a) For purposes of this part "office" means the Office of Education and the Environment of the California Environmental Protection Agency, as established pursuant to this section. (b) The Office of Education and the Environment is hereby established in the California Environmental Protection Agency. The office shall report to the Secretary for Environmental Protection. The office shall dedicate its effort to implementing the statewide environmental educational program prescribed pursuant to this part. The office, through staffing and resources, shall give a high priority to implementing the statewide environmental education program. (c) The office, under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary for Education, shall develop and implement a unified education strategy on the environment for elementary and secondary schools in the state. The office shall develop a unified education strategy to do all of the following: (1) Coordinate instructional resources and strategies for providing active pupil participation with onsite conservation efforts. (2) Promote service-learning opportunities between schools and local communities. (3) Assess the impact to participating pupils of the unified education strategy on pupil achievement and resource conservation. (4) On or before June 30, 2006, the office shall report to the Legislature and the Governor on its progress in developing, implementing, and assessing the unified education strategy. (d) The State Department of Education, State Board of Education, and Secretary for Education shall develop and implement to the extent feasible, a teacher training and implementation plan, to guide the implementation of the unified education strategy, for the education of pupils, faculty, and administrators on the importance of integrating environmental concepts and programs in schools throughout the state. The strategy shall project the phased implementation of elementary, middle, and high school programs. (e) In implementing this part, the office may hold public meetings to receive and respond to comments from affected state agencies, stakeholders, and the public regarding the development of resources and materials pursuant to this part. (f) In implementing this part, the office shall coordinate with other agencies and groups with expertise in education and the environment, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Education Interagency Network. (g) Any instructional materials developed pursuant to this part shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 60000) of Part 33 of the Education Code, including, but not limited to, reviews for legal and social compliance before the materials may be used in elementary or secondary public schools. 71301. (a) As part of the unified education strategy, the office, under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary for Education, shall develop education principles for the environment for elementary and secondary school pupils. The principles may be updated every four years beginning July 1, 2008. The principles shall be aligned to the academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605 of the Education Code. The principles shall be used to do all of the following: (1) To direct state agencies that include environmental education components for elementary and secondary education in regulatory decisions or enforcement actions. (2) To align state agency environmental education programs and materials that are developed for elementary and secondary education. (b) The education principles for the environment shall include, but not be limited to, concepts relating to the following topics: (1) Environmental sustainability. (2) Water. (3) Air. (4) Energy. (5) Forestry. (6) Fish and wildlife resources. (7) Oceans. (8) Toxics and hazardous waste. (9) Integrated waste management. (10) Integrated pest management. (11) Public health and the environment. (12) Pollution prevention. (13) Resource conservation and recycling. (14) Environmental justice. (c) The principles shall be aligned to the applicable academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education and shall not duplicate or conflict with any academic content standards. (d) (1) The education principles for the environment shall be incorporated, as the State Board of Education determines to be appropriate, in criteria developed for textbook adoption required pursuant to Section 60200 or 60400 of the Education Code in Science, Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and History/Social Sciences. (2) If the State Board of Education determines that the education principles for the environment are not appropriate for inclusion in the textbook adoption criteria cited in paragraph (1), the State Board of Education shall collaborate with the office to make the changes necessary to ensure that the principles are included in the textbook adoption criteria in Science, Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and History/Social Sciences. (e) If the content standards required pursuant to Section 60605 of the Education Code are revised, the education principles for the environment shall be appropriately considered for inclusion into part of the revised academic content standards. 71302. (a) Using the education principles for the environment required in Section 71301, the office, under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, shall develop, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, a model environmental curriculum that incorporates these education principles for the environment. The model curriculum shall be aligned with applicable State Board of Education adopted academic content standards in Science, Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and History/Social Sciences, to the extent that any of those content areas are addressed in the model curriculum. (b) The model curriculum shall be submitted to the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission for review. The commission shall submit its recommendation to the Secretary for Environmental Protection and to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency by July 1, 2005. (1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall review and comment on the model curriculum by January 1, 2006. (2) The model curriculum along with the comments by the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for its approval. 71303. (a) As determined appropriate by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Department of Education shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, those materials developed by the office that provide information on the education principles for the environment required in Section 71300. (b) If the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that materials developed by the office that provide information on the education principles for the environment are not appropriate for inclusion in publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall collaborate with the office to make the changes necessary to ensure that the materials are included in that information. (c) The model environmental curriculum approved by the State Board of Education, pursuant to Section 71302 shall be made available by the office to elementary and secondary schools to the extent that funds are available for this purpose. The State Department of Education shall make the model curriculum available electronically including posting the model curriculum on its Internet Web site. (d) The State Department of Education, to the extent feasible and to the extent that funds are available for this purpose, shall encourage the development and use of instructional materials and active pupil participation in campus and community environmental education programs. To the extent feasible, the environmental education programs should be considered in the development and promotion of after school programs for elementary and secondary school pupils and state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist in teaching about the environment. (e) (1) The California Environmental Protection Agency shall assume costs associated with the printing of the approved model curriculum as set forth in subdivision (c). The California Environmental Protection Agency shall use, for these purposes, funds that are available for its administrative costs. (2) From funds available for its administrative costs, the State Department of Education shall post and maintain the model curriculum on its Internet Web site and pay any costs associated with any related online questionnaire on its Internet Web site as set forth in subdivision (c). (3) The State Department of Education shall explore implementation of this section from its baseline resources dedicated to this purpose and if funding is not available from that source, then funding may be provided to the department, pursuant to appropriation by the Legislature, under Section 71305. 71304. (a) The office, under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, shall be responsible for the statewide coordination of regulatory administrative decisions that require the development or encourage the promotion of environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils. (b) All California Environmental Protection Agency or Natural Resources Agency boards, departments, or offices that take regulatory actions or take enforcement actions requiring the development of, or encouraging the promotion of, environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils shall, prior to adoption or approval of the action, seek comments on the action from the office in order to promote consistency with this part and cross-media coordination. (c) The office shall coordinate with all state agencies to develop and distribute environmental education materials. 71305. (a) The Environmental Education Account is hereby established within the State Treasury. Moneys in the account may, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the California Environmental Protection Agency for the purposes of this part. The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall administer this part, including, but not limited to, the account. (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the agency may accept and receive federal, state, and local funds and contributions of funds from a public or private organization or individual. The account may also receive proceeds from a judgment in state or federal court, when the funds are contributed or the judgment specifies that the proceeds are to be used for the purposes of this part. The account may receive those funds, contributions, or proceeds from judgments, that are specifically designated for use for environmental education purposes. The agency may enter into an agreement with an external fiscal agent for the receipt of those contributions for use for the purposes of this part. Private contributors shall not have the authority to further influence or direct the use of their contributions, regardless of whether their contributions are made directly to the agency or to an external fiscal agent. (c) (1) For purposes of this section, an "external fiscal agent" means an independent nonprofit organization that may receive and retain contributions from a private organization or individual, or both, intended to support the purposes of this part. The external fiscal agent shall retain all contributions for the purposes of this part in a single account, without regard to the origin of those contributions, and shall not expend any moneys from the account, except at the direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection. The external fiscal agent shall be required to enter into a contract with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, which shall prescribe procedures for the expenditure of contributions made for the purposes of this part. (2) (A) All donations received by the fiscal agent shall be reviewed by the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Department of Finance to ensure the donations and gifts are consistent with state law and policies regarding the receipt of gifts to the state and the purposes for which those gifts are intended. (B) Terms and conditions, including the purposes for which the donations shall be expended, of the contract entered into between the state and the fiscal agent shall be subject to review by the Department of Finance. (C) The Department of Finance shall review the proposed contract within 45 business days of receiving a complete contract, including all exhibits and related supporting documents. (3) (A) The external fiscal agent shall maintain separate bank or savings and loan association accounts to account for any money under its control, and shall follow the same approval procedures and reporting requirements as apply to any account outside the State Treasury, as may be prescribed in the State Administrative Manual, including all year-end accounting reporting requirements. (B) Any bank or investment interest earned by the fiscal agent resulting from donations received by the fiscal agent pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the state for the purposes of the Education and the Environment Initiative program. (4) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the agency shall report, pursuant to the requirements in Section 9795 of the Government Code, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the relevant fiscal and policy committees of each house of the Legislature no later than January 10, 2011, and annually thereafter on the condition of the account described in paragraph (1), including expenditures, if any, from the account in the prior fiscal year and anticipated expenditures in the current and upcoming fiscal year. The agency shall submit an update to the report, to the required entities, containing any revisions or updates to the condition of the account or the anticipated expenditures therefrom, no later than May 15, 2011, and annually thereafter. (d) Notwithstanding any other law, a state agency that requires the development of, or encourages the promotion of, environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils, may contribute to the account. (e) The agency shall immediately deposit any funds contributed pursuant to subdivision (b) into the account. (f) The Legislature finds and declares that the maintenance of the account is of the utmost importance to the state and that it is essential that any moneys in the account be used solely for the purposes authorized in this section and not be used, loaned, or transferred for any other purposes. State agencies that promote environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils will benefit from the environmental curriculum adopted pursuant to this part and should provide equitable and balanced support for the program. (g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date. 71305. (a) The Environmental Education Account is hereby established within the State Treasury. Moneys in the account may, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the California Environmental Protection Agency for the purposes of this part. The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall administer this part, including, but not limited to, the account. (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the agency may accept and receive federal, state, and local funds and contributions of funds from a public or private organization or individual. The account may also receive proceeds from a judgment in state or federal court, when the funds are contributed or the judgment specifies that the proceeds are to be used for the purposes of this part. The account may receive those funds, contributions, or proceeds from judgments, that are specifically designated for use for environmental education purposes. Private contributors shall not have the authority to further influence or direct the use of their contributions. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, a state agency that requires the development of, or encourages the promotion of, environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils, may contribute to the account. (d) The agency shall immediately deposit any funds contributed pursuant to subdivision (b) into the account. (e) The Legislature finds and declares that the maintenance of the account is of the utmost importance to the state and that it is essential that any moneys in the account be used solely for the purposes authorized in this section and not be used, loaned, or transferred for any other purposes. Further, state agencies that promote environmental education for elementary and secondary school pupils will benefit from the environmental curriculum adopted pursuant to this part and should provide equitable and balanced support for the program. (f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2013.