Maryland: First State to Require Environmental Literacy

BALTIMORE – In a historic vote, The Maryland State Board of Education provided specific guidance to all public schools to require that each student be environmentally literate before he or she graduates from high school. This makes Maryland the first state in the country to approve a graduation requirement in environmental literacy. This is a credit to Governor O'Malley, to board members, and to Dr. Nancy Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools.  They have been working on this since 2008, when Governor O'Malley appointed a special task force to explore how to improve and expand environmental education in the state. With this approval there will be two workgroups that will be revising and aligning Maryland environmental literacy standards, developing guidelines and implementation. This opens the doors for potential federal funding due to the states lack of resources for staff training in environmental education. "This is a defining moment for education in Maryland," said Governor O'Malley. "By approving this environmental graduation requirement, the Board of Education is ensuring that our young people graduate with a keen understanding of and connection to the natural world. Only through exposure to nature and education about our fragile ecosystem can we create the next generation of stewards. " Studies show environmental education has a measurable, positive impact on student achievement not only in science but in math, reading, and social studies. The No Child Left Inside Coalition is a national partnership of over 2,000 business, health, youth, faith, recreational, environmental, and educational groups representing over 50 million Americans. The chapter in Maryland has over 225 group members, and represents over 635,000 Marylanders.

Melvin Wylie