[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5902 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5902

 To enhance environmental justice education in middle and high schools 
                   that serve disadvantaged students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 24, 2008

  Ms. Clarke introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enhance environmental justice education in middle and high schools 
                   that serve disadvantaged students.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as--
            (1) the ``Getting Youth Re-invested in Environmental 
        Education Now Act''; or
            (2) the ``GREEN Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Environmental justice education is essential for--
                    (A) producing students who are prepared to address 
                not only the imminent climate change issues that effect 
                them locally, but to be the driving force behind global 
                environmental solutions that will be the stimulus of an 
                emerging eco-efficient economy;
                    (B) addressing the global and local environmental 
                issues that are disproportionately affecting people of 
                color; and
                    (C) fostering a critical understanding of the 
                environment within the context of human political and 
                social actions.
            (2) Environmental justice education lends itself to the 
        field of service learning with the call to move beyond the 
        classroom and experience the earth in an experiential, embodied 
        way which empowers students to confront global environmental 
        justice.
            (3) States and local educational agencies should create an 
        integrated curriculum in which environmental justice education 
        is incorporated throughout subject areas such as math, science, 
        history, language arts, and all other core subject areas.
            (4) Environmental justice education uses multiple 
        strategies including experiential learning, integrated core 
        subject study, analytical research, and project based learning.

SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education shall, subject to the 
availability of appropriations, make grants on a competitive basis 
under this Act to States and to local educational agencies that submit 
to the Secretary an application at such time and in such manner as the 
Secretary may require. The purpose of the grants is to assist eligible 
recipients to develop an environmental justice curriculum, and a co-op 
program, for students attending middle and high schools that--
            (1) receive funds under part A of title I of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (29 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.); 
        and
            (2) are located in an urban community that may be 
        disproportionately affected by climate change, pollution, and 
        other environmental issues.
    (b) Curriculum Development.--An environmental justice curriculum 
developed with funds received under this Act shall satisfy the 
following objectives:
            (1) Educating students, through experiential learning and 
        otherwise, about topics relating to environmental justice, such 
        as air pollution, lead paint poisoning, access to organic 
        foods, sustainable agriculture, proximity to landfills, toxic 
        dumping, relative asthma rates, and the historical patterns of 
        environmental impacts.
            (2) Empowering students actively to address environmental 
        issues in their local neighborhoods while also considering 
        global environmental problems.
            (3) Allowing students to explore careers that involve 
        solving environmental problems and cultivating innovators to 
        solve such problems.
            (4) Enhancing life skills required for sound personal 
        decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, 
        and economic productivity, such as problem solving, critical 
        thinking, and good stewardship.
            (5) Establishing a nurturing environment that fosters 
        democratic and socially just relationships among schools, 
        families, and surrounding communities.
    (c) Co-Op Program Development.--A co-op program developed with 
funds received under this Act shall satisfy the following objectives:
            (1) Linking students with career opportunities in the 
        environmental field by building partnerships with the public 
        and private sector.
            (2) Providing students with an opportunity to earn 
        secondary school course credits or credits towards the 
        jurisdiction's service learning requirements during the summer 
        through experiential learning such as internships and other 
        types of field experience.
            (3) Assisting students in building skills necessary for 
        workforce success, such as development of a career path; 
        resume, letter, and memoranda writing; and job interviewing.
            (4) Providing students with mentors recruited through the 
        partnerships described in paragraph (1) who are equipped to 
        assist a mentee in the skill building described in paragraph 
        (3).
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