S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5581

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 23, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. KAVANAGH, COLTON, JACOBS, JAFFEE, HOYT, MARKEY,
  MILLMAN, P. RIVERA, SPANO, STEVENSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  BOYLAND, BRENNAN, GUNTHER, MAISEL, PHEFFER, 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:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
State Environmental Sustainability Education Act".
  S 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that:
  1.  In  recognition  of  the  United  Nations  Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development (2005-2014), as  declared  at  the  Johannesburg
Summit of 2002, New York state deems it imperative to develop and imple-
ment  an  educational  program  geared towards improving the capacity of
people to address environmental issues in the 21st century.
  2. Our ability to fulfill our responsibility to equip New York's citi-
zens with the required knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to
create a sustainable future and enhance our quality of life  have  never
been more critical.
  3.  More  than  any  other time in recent history, New York's citizens
have the capacity to dramatically affect their natural environment,  and
mitigate  and  possibly  reverse  our  society's  negative impact on our
natural surroundings.
  4. New technologies and research have  availed  unparalleled  opportu-
nities  for us to develop and protect resources in a manner that enables
people to meet current needs, while also providing  that  future  gener-
ations can meet future needs.
  5. To successfully confront these environmental concerns and sensitiv-
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.
                                                           LBD00816-01-1

              

A. 5581                             2

people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating  a  sustainable
future.
  S  3.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this act, the following words
shall have the following meanings:
  1. "Sustainability" shall mean development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations  to  meet
their  own  needs.  Development  that  occurs  in such a way ensures the
capacity of the natural environment to meet present and future needs.
  2.  "Education for sustainability" (EFS) means to  promote  an  under-
standing  of the interconnectedness of environment, economy and society.
EFS links this understanding with inquiry and action  to  help  students
build  a  healthy  future  for their communities and for the planet. EFS
fosters the ability to integrate scientific, economic and  social  know-
ledge and makes education more pertinent to the changing world by moving
beyond  institutional  boundaries  of  the disciplines and their content
bias. EFS helps students identify their role in  local  communities  and
suggests  ways  to get involved. EFS shall consist of educational activ-
ities  and  training  activities  involving  elementary  and   secondary
students  (K-12),  as such terms are defined in the education law and by
environmental education personnel.
  S 4. Legislative directives and programs.
  1. The department of education is hereby required to establish a model
program to guide the development, implementation  and  evaluation  of  a
comprehensive  environmental sustainability education program to be made
available to public schools, and assist them in developing curricula and
training staff to adequately prepare students to participate  as  active
and involved citizens in building a sustainable future.
  2.  The  program shall be developed by the department of education, in
conjunction with  the  department  of  environmental  conservation,  and
modeled  to  promote  and  enhance  an  understanding of the concepts of
sustainability and improve understanding of the natural and built  envi-
ronment,  and  the  relationships  between  humans  and the environment,
including local and global aspects of environmental problems.
  3. The education for sustainability program shall  be  constructed  in
line with the following principles:
  a. A program that fosters clear awareness of, and concern for, econom-
ic,  social,  political and ecological interdependence in all regions of
New York, the United States and the world.
  b. One that endorses an approach to teaching and learning  that  inte-
grates the goals and benefits of conservation, social justice, renewable
energy, cultural diversity and sustainable development into a vision for
social improvement.
  c. One that ensures that students appreciate and respect the intrinsic
value of the whole environment, and develop an ethic of personal respon-
sibility and stewardship towards all aspects of the environment.
  d.  One that encourages students to participate as active and involved
citizens in building a sustainable future.
  e. One that fosters appropriate applications of technology  that  help
solve, not create, problems.
  4.  The  sustainability  education  program  shall include, but not be
limited to, the following specific features:
  a. The program shall be designed and tailored  appropriately  to  suit
all  age  groups covered by the K-12 state curriculum and the department
shall design lesson plans and teaching strategies that are age appropri-
ate.  The department of education shall reserve the right to include  or
omit certain specified program requirements (listed below in this subdi-

A. 5581                             3

vision)  when tailoring the principles of sustainability to be taught at
each grade level, depending on the suitability of the lesson's  instruc-
tion at each grade interval.
  b.  The program shall specifically enumerate the key topic/issue areas
to be studied, and shall integrate environmental education for sustaina-
bility issues and  topics  into  specific  key  learning  areas/subjects
located  within  the broader curriculum framework such as creative arts,
English, health  and  physical  education,  languages,  mathematics  and
economics,  science and geography, history and studies of society, envi-
ronment and  technology.  The  principles  of  sustainability  shall  be
presented and integrated wherever appropriate.
  c.  The  program  shall  promote education for sustainable development
'perspectives' across learning areas to include cross-curricular  units,
complementary   teaching  across  several  subjects,  special  projects,
performances, excursions, and visiting experts.  The  program  may  also
provide  for  collaborative  projects  with  other  schools (locally and
globally) to promote equity, inclusivity, and respect for all people.
  d. The program shall raise awareness of the  nature  and  function  of
ecological,  social,  economic  and  political  systems and how they are
interrelated in addressing environmental and sustainability issues.
  e. The program shall underscore  the  impact  that  people,  business,
industry  and  government  have  on environments and how the environment
shapes  human  activities,  with  particular  reference  to  unique  and
distinctive  New York heritage traditions and settings, connecting past,
present, and future perspectives and/or impacts.
  f. The program shall emphasize the role of cultural, socioeconomic and
political systems in environmental decision-making.
  g. The program shall reinforce the value  of  innovative  technologies
with  the  aim  to  produce  places, products and services in a way that
reduces use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental  impact,
relates  people with the natural environment, and conveys the importance
of creating and maintaining a sustainable lifestyle.
  h. The program shall  include  assessment  strategies  that  emphasize
problem-solving,  teamwork, decision-making, holistic thinking, clarify-
ing and analyzing values and opportunities for action, in order to gauge
and improve the effectiveness and relevance of the program.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.