NCAEEC News and Information
Save the Date: 2021 Annual MeetingThe 2021 North Carolina Association of Environmental Education Centers Annual Conference will be held virtually.
Planning Session - for 2020 NCAEEC Annual Membership MeetingThe Board of NCAEEC plans to meet on Monday October 14 at Fort Caswell Retreat and Conference Center to prepare for, organize and discuss topics and themes for the 2020 NCAEEC Annual Meeting in March 2020. Members-At-Large are always welcome to attend board meetings or planning meetings to provide input into organizational operations or annual meeting preparations. Please email: ncaeec.info@gmail.com for further information and directions.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed in December 2015 and governs the country's K-12 public education policy. For the first time, federal education funding includes language making environmental education programs eligible for funding. This federal funding will be filtered down to schools through the state and individual school districts. States are required to develop their own ESSA plan to comply with the federal law. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is requesting feedback on the rough draft of North Carolina's ESSA plan from educators, parents, students, and other stakeholders of the state's public schools. Title IV Part A of the ESSA is a new flexible block grant program that gives school districts the authority to select from (among other things) a number of student enrichment activities, including environmental education and field-based and service learning activities to support STEM learning. Title IV Part B is a continuation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) competitive grant program which supports after school and out of school time learning opportunities, including environmental literacy programs. While there is precedent for use of federal education funds, including 21st CCLC and the former Math Science Partnership grants, to support high quality, systemic environmental education programming, this is the first time that federal education policy has made environmental education and related learning explicitly eligible for funds. For more information, review the links below:
Update 7/3/2017 From Lisa Tolley, Environmental Education Program Manager Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality 919-707-8125 office lisa.tolley@ncdenr.gov The NC Department of Public Instruction is accepting public input on the most recent draft of the State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The public comment period ends July 27, 2017. You can view comments from the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs and other resources. From NCDPI website: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/succeeds NEW!! Draft State Plan for the ESSA Open for Public Review and Comment The NCDPI staff are pleased to inform you that a new draft of the Consolidated State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is available for public review. This document serves as the rough draft of the state's application for funds authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as reauthorized under ESSA in accordance with the requirements of the template issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The public and other stakeholders of North Carolina's public schools are invited to provide feedback via email to Lou Fabrizio at Lou.fabrizio@dpi.nc.gov or Donna Brown at Donna.brown@dpi.nc.gov. The public comment period ends July 27, 2017. NEW!! !! Draft State Plan for the ESSA (June 26, 2017) (pdf, 4.2mb) Other NCAEEC News:
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