PART 4. STATEWIDE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION [71300. - 71305.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 4.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71300. Section 71300.

(a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Department” means the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. (2) “Office” means the Office of Education and the Environment of the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, as established pursuant to this section. (3) “Program” means the statewide environmental education program prescribed in this part. (b) The Office of Education and the Environment previously established in the California Environmental Protection Agency is hereby established in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The office shall dedicate its effort to implementing the statewide environmental education program prescribed pursuant to this part, including the integrated waste educational requirements specified in paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of Section 71301. 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 department, in cooperation with the State Department of Education and the State Board of 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. (d) The State Department of Education and the State Board of Education, in cooperation with the department, 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. (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 Division 4 of Title 2 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71301. Section 71301.

(a) As part of the unified education strategy specified in subdivision (c) of Section 71300, the office, in cooperation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, shall develop environmental principles and concepts for elementary and secondary school pupils. (b) (1) The environmental principles and concepts may be updated every four years beginning July 1, 2008, by the office, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the Natural Resources Agency, pursuant to the process set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3). (2) When updating or amending the environmental principles and concepts, the office shall ensure that the environmental principles and concepts are based on current scientific and technical knowledge, and shall solicit and coordinate input from the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and other executive branch agencies and departments, nongovernmental science and education consultants and organizations with the relevant scientific and technical knowledge, and currently employed, credentialed, public school classroom teachers with experience in education related to the environment. A majority of the individuals consulted to review proposed updates or amendments to the environmental principles and concepts shall be credentialed, current public school elementary or secondary classroom teachers with experience in education related to the environment. (3) When updating the environmental principles and concepts, the office shall hold a minimum of two public meetings in order for the public to provide input on the modifications. The public meetings required by this subdivision shall be held pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). (c) The environmental principles and concepts shall be aligned to the academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education in the subjects of English language arts, science, history-social science, health, and, to the extent practicable, mathematics, and shall not conflict with any academic content standards. The environmental principles and concepts 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. (3) For provision, by the office, of technical assistance to state agencies involved in the integration of the environmental principles and concepts in programs they operate, and in the integration of the environmental principles and concepts into state curriculum standards, frameworks, and instructional materials pursuant to Section 51227.3 of the Education Code. (d) The environmental principles and concepts shall include, but not be limited to, concepts relating to the following topics: (1) Air. (2) Climate change. (3) Energy. (4) Environmental justice. (5) Environmental sustainability. (6) Fish and wildlife resources. (7) Forestry. (8) Integrated pest management. (9) Oceans. (10) Pollution prevention. (11) Public health and the environment. (12) Resource conservation, waste reduction, and recycling. (13) Toxics and hazardous waste. (14) Water.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71302. Section 71302.

(a) Using the education principles for the environment required to be developed pursuant to Section 71301, the office, in cooperation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Natural Resources Agency, the State Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, shall develop 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 Instructional Quality Commission for review. The commission shall submit its recommendation to the Secretary for Environmental Protection and to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. (1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall review and comment on the model curriculum. (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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71303. Section 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 developed pursuant to 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) Pursuant to Section 71302, the department shall coordinate with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Department of Education, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to facilitate use of the model environmental curriculum by elementary and secondary schools to the extent that funds are available for this purpose. (d) The department, the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Department of Education, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency may collaborate with other federal, state, and local entities, and nongovernmental entities including nonprofit organizations, associations, businesses, individuals, and private entities, and may enter into interagency agreements, memoranda of understanding, and contracts to ensure implementation of this part. (e) The department shall make the model curriculum available electronically on the department’s Internet Web site. The State Department of Education shall make readily identifiable on its Internet Web site a link to the department’s Internet Web site containing the curriculum. (f) 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. (g) 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71304. Section 71304.

(a) The office, in coordination with 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 71305. Section 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 department for the purposes of this part. The Director of Resources Recycling and Recovery shall administer this part, including, but not limited to, the account. (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the department 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, settlement, fine, penalty, or other mechanism, 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 department 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.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026