Appendix A

Status of Activities as of 1/1/2005

Development of Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&C)

The Environmental Principles and Concepts are presented in Appendix B. The EP&C have been reviewed and approved by the Office of the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Integrated Waste Management Board.

The EP&C were developed through an extensive series of technical working group meetings involving over 100 scientists and technical experts. The participants represented state agencies, universities, business and industry, and environmental organizations from across California.

The draft EP&C were subjected to an extensive review process that included public meetings and on-line discussion sessions. The draft EP&C were also widely disseminated to educators and environmental education providers through a series of nine field review and orientation meetings that were conducted in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Shasta Counties.

Incorporation of EP&C into Curriculum Frameworks and Textbook Adoption Criteria

The process of incorporating the Environmental Principles and Concepts into California’s curriculum frameworks and textbook adoption criteria will require several years due to laws and policies that determine these adoption cycles. These documents are revised and released on a seven-year cycle.

The EP&C have been incorporated into the recently approved science textbook adoption criteria (March, 2004) with a specific reference to “principles of environmental science.” This same reference has also been incorporated into the Science Curriculum Framework.

The textbook adoption criteria for history/social science were promulgated in 2003; thus, the EP&C cannot be incorporated into those criteria until the next cycle in 2010. The textbook adoption criteria and curriculum frameworks for English/language arts and mathematics will be revised over the next several years.

Preparation for Development of the Model Curriculum

The standards alignment maps for the EP&C are available at http://www.calepa.ca.gov/Education/AB1548/. The standards alignment maps have been reviewed and approved by the Office of the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Integrated Waste Management Board.

Mastery of the academic content standards in grades K-12 is the primary educational goal of the State Board of Education and California Department of Education. The purpose of mapping (aligning) the EP&C to the academic content standards is to ensure that the model curriculum and other instructional strategies developed for teaching the EP&C will also help students achieve mastery of California’s content standards.

The first phase of the standards alignment process identified possible connections between teaching of content standards and teaching of the EP&C. The initial work on mapping of the academic content standards was focused on science and history/social science because of the curriculum framework and textbook adoption cycles. The mapping to the academic content standards for mathematics and English/language arts is scheduled for a later date.

The 27 draft standards alignment maps were subjected to an extensive review process that included public meetings and on-line discussion sessions. They were also widely disseminated to educators and environmental education providers through the nine field review and orientation meetings that were conducted in Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Shasta Counties.

The standards alignment maps will be used as the basis for developing the scope and sequence for teaching the EP&C through the model curriculum. This scope and sequence, together with outlines of instructional plans and strategies for integration of existing materials, will be prepared by April, 2005.