BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 988 Hearing Date: July 14,
2015
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|Author: |Mark Stone | | |
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|Version: |June 30, 2015 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Angee Doerr |
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Subject: Outdoor Environmental Education and Recreation Grants
Program.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR),
which is responsible for administering the state park system.
DPR has also been directed under prior bond acts to administer
grant programs for local and regional parks and related
programs. DPR is authorized to provide spaces within the
state park system for schools to use for environmental
education (Public Resources Code (PRC) Division 1, Chapter 1,
Article 1, commencing with Section 500).
2)Establishes guidelines for DPR to use in granting funds for
programs that provide outdoor environmental education
experiences to low-income students on public properties (PRC
Division 5, Chapter 1.55, commencing with Section 5095).
3)Establishes a statewide environmental education program, to be
administered by the Office of Education and Environment within
the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle), in cooperation with other agencies. The
program, among other things, calls for development of a
unified education strategy on the environment for elementary
and secondary schools, including environmental education
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principles (PRC Section 71300).
4)Requires the Office of Education and Environment to develop a
model environmental education curriculum, to submit the
curriculum to the Instructional Quality Commission for review,
to make the curriculum available electronically, and to
coordinate with other state agencies to facilitate its use
(PRC Section 71302).
5)Establishes the Environmental Education Account in the State
Treasury and authorizes CalRecycle to expend funds in the
Account (PRC Section 71305).
6)States legislative findings and declarations that the State's
model Education and the Environment Curriculum is the first of
its kind in the nation to receive State Board of Education
approval. Declares that CalRecycle should collaborate across
agencies and disciplines, including the California
Environmental Education Protection Agency (CalEPA), the
California Department of Education (CDE), and the Natural
Resources Agency (CNRA), to achieve the goal of promoting
environmental literacy and use of the curriculum (Chapter 356,
Statutes of 2013).
7)Dictates reporting requirements for all program reports
required by the Legislature (Government Code (GOV) Section
9795).
PROPOSED LAW
This bill:
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1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
importance of park access, outdoor education, and outdoor
recreational experiences to the health and well being of
California citizens and for continuing stewardship of our
natural resources, and regarding the public health problems
exacerbated by the lack of equitable access to these places
and experiences in many communities. Makes further
declarations regarding the findings of the Parks Forward
Commission, and the outcomes and benefits of other state
environmental education and local park programs.
2)States the intent of the Legislature to expand access to parks
and other outdoor educational and recreational opportunities
in underserved areas by convening and developing strategic
partnerships to facilitate, promote and enhance park access as
well as outdoor educational and recreational experiences in
underserved communities.
3)Requires DPR to establish an Outdoor Environmental Education
and Recreation Grants Program to increase the ability of
underserved and at-risk populations to participate in outdoor
recreation and educational experiences by awarding grants to
public and nonprofit organizations.
4)Requires the director of DPR in developing the program to meet
specified criteria and give priority to underserved
populations, including both urban and rural areas, and
low-income communities where participation in outdoor
environmental education and recreation programs has been
limited.
5)Authorizes the director of DPR to develop an advisory task
force, as specified, to assist in developing the program.
6)Requires that priority be given in funding to programs that
have one of the following attributes:
a) Serve at-risk youth and underserved demographic
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groups
b) Include public, private, and nonprofit partnerships.
c) Contribute to healthy lifestyles
d) Maximize numbers of participants
e) Commit in-kind resources
f) Have a curriculum aligned to the science content
standards for California public schools adopted by the
State Board of Education
g) Foster stewardship of the environment and includes
curriculum developed under the statewide environmental
education program
h) Integrates instruction in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics
i) Includes service learning and community outreach to
build partnerships between participants and local
communities.
7)Provides that reverted and unencumbered funds from the
California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks,
and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 (Proposition 40) may be
appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of this bill,
if consistent with the requirements of that Act.
8)Authorizes the director of DPR to additionally accept private
donations made for support of the program, and to solicit and
accept private funding to help supplement the costs of the
program. Specifies that such funding sources may include, but
are not limited to, foundations, corporate funding, crowd
funding resources, donation drives, and other sources.
9)Requires that all moneys received for these purposes be
deposited in the California Youth Outdoor Education Account,
which this bill creates within the State Park and Recreation
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Fund, and be continuously appropriated to DPR for purposes of
the program.
10) Requires the department to gather information from
applicants each award year in order to evaluate the
effectiveness of outdoor environmental education and
recreation programs in achieving the program's objectives. The
information must be compiled into a report for the budget and
fiscal committees of the Legislature, in compliance with GOV
Section 9795.
11) Amends the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Act to
clarify that funds appropriated for purposes of that Act may
include programs in public park properties in the coastal
zone.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
California State Parks Foundation writes that "promoting quality
outdoor education and recreation programs is a way to help bring
the California Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights to life, which
includes 10 rights that every child should have in accessing
nature and the outdoors?Exposure to the natural environment
affords unique opportunities for children to learn about
biology, astronomy, ecology, earth sciences, and other
science-based principles in ways that are spontaneous and occur
informally. Providing access to outdoor recreation opportunities
helps children have an outlet for fitness and learn skills that
will help them become self-sufficient in later years."
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority adds, "AB 988
seeks to fill a gap in California's education programs that fail
to connect underserved and low-income students with nature. The
bill would provide funding to public entities and nonprofit
organizations with environmental and recreational education
programs to fund opportunities for California youth from all
economic backgrounds to benefit from outdoor environmental
education."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None Received
COMMENTS
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Is outdoor environmental education beneficial? AB 1330
(Simitian, Chapter 633, Statutes of 2003) established the
Outdoor Environmental Education Program, administered by CDE, to
support outdoor environmental programs serving primarily at-risk
youth. The program involved participation in outdoor
environmental activities, including service learning and
community outreach components. The program was in effect for one
year, sunset on January 1, 2005, and was repealed on January 1,
2006.
AB 1330 called for an independent study of the benefits of the
program. The study was performed by the American Institutes for
Research and focused on 255 sixth-grade students from four
elementary schools who attended three outdoor education programs
in Tulare, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties in 2004. The
study found that, among other things, the science test scores of
children who participated in these programs were raised by 27%.
The children also exhibited measurable improvements in conflict
resolution and problem solving, self-esteem, and learning
motivation. Children who attended the outdoor science programs
showed statistically significant positive gains in all eight
constructs on which they were rated. Also of note, 56% of the
participants reported that the outdoor school experience
represented the first time they had spent time in a natural
setting. The study did note that due to the small sample size,
"findings cannot be generalized to all students attending
outdoor education programs in California, particularly because
of the range of programs that exist. However, this research
indicates a large number of positive outcomes for at-risk
children who attend resident outdoor science schools certified
by the California Department of Education."
Similar DPR Grant Programs: Since 2000, over 90% of the grant
funds administered by DPR have come from bond acts approved by
the voters. The most recent of these was Proposition 84 (Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River
and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006), which, among other
things, made $368 million available for a statewide park program
emphasizing creation of park space for underserved communities.
Those funds have all been awarded at this point. DPR indicates
that over 900 applications were received requesting over $3
billion in funding for the $368 million available.
DPR also administers several outdoor education and recreation
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programs funded entirely with outside private donations. For
example, DPR's Office of Community Involvement administers a
youth leadership program entitled "Outdoor Youth Connection"
which trains youth leaders to conduct outdoor recreational
outings, DPR's FamCamp Program which introduces families from
low income urban communities to camping, and an Outdoor
Recreational Leadership Training program that trains community
leaders of other organizations to lead their own outdoor
recreational activities. DPR indicates that over the past four
years these programs collectively have been funded through an
average of $125,000 received annually in donations from private
sources. While these programs have been well received by
participants, they have been limited in scope and capacity due
to the limited nature of the funding.
Finally, DPR's Division of Interpretation and Education offers a
summer learning program for urban schools funded through a grant
from the Packard Foundation and the California State Parks
Foundation, and administers a distance learning
videoconferencing program known as PORTS which brings park
interpretation to kids in K-12 public school classrooms through
their computers.
Other state Environmental Education Programs: While there are
other existing state programs related to environmental
education, few if any of these are focused specifically on
providing grant funding for actual development and
implementation of outdoor environmental education programs
serving at-risk youth. In addition to the programs mentioned
above, the CDE develops curricula for use by educators in the
classroom, and the Office of Environment and Education in the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery coordinates the
development of model environmental education curricula. However,
neither of these offices provides grants for actual development
and implementation of outdoor environmental education programs.
Some county offices of education and local school districts
operate outdoor environmental education resident science
programs. However, these programs are generally operated as fee
for service programs, which not all schools can afford, and are
not available statewide.
California Environmental Education Interagency Network (CEEIN):
The bill authoriszes the director of DPR to develop an advisory
task force, which may include representatives from CEEIN. CEEIN
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is a state government consortium of environmental educators
representing departments, boards, and commissions of the CDE,
CalEPA, Resources, and Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA). The partnership is solidified by a memorandum of
understanding, which has been signed by the state Superintendent
of Public Instruction and the secretaries of CalEPA, Resources,
and CDFA. The California Coastal Commission currently hosts the
CEEIN Web site.
Parks Forward Commission Report: The Parks Forward Commission
is an independent commission that was appointed by the Secretary
of the Natural Resources Agency to conduct a comprehensive
review of the state park system. The Commission issued its
final report and recommendation on January 30, 2015. One of the
top priority recommendations of the Commission was that the
state should improve park access to underserved communities,
with a particular emphasis on the needs of younger generations.
As the legislative findings in this bill indicate, the
Commission found, among other things, that improving access to
parks, outdoor experiences, and recreational opportunities,
particularly for youth in disadvantaged communities, will lead
to more healthy lifestyles, better educational outcomes, and
improvements to the overall well-being of California citizens,
communities, and our natural environment.
Prior and Related Legislation:
AB 1603 (Stone, 2014) was a similar bill but was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee. One significant difference
between AB 1603 and this bill is that AB 1603 proposed to fund
the program from the General Fund, whereas this bill proposes
that the program be funded from private funding sources and
reverted and unencumbered Proposition 40 bond funds, which
specifically authorized a portion of the proceeds from the sale
of the bonds to be used to fund outdoor environmental education
and recreation programs serving disadvantaged youth.
AB 2989 (Fuentes, 2008) was similar to this bill but was held in
the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2989 initially proposed
that funding for the program come from the Environmental License
Plate Fund (ELPF) but was later amended to make implementation
contingent on funding being provided in the annual budget act,
without a specific source being identified.
SB 207 (Padilla, 2007) was also substantially similar to this
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bill but was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 207
proposed that funding come from the General Fund and donations.
SB 1649 (Alarcon, 2006) proposed to fund the program from the
Resources Trust Fund (tidelands revenue) and the ELPF. SB 1649
was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1330 (Simitian, Chapter 633, Statutes of 2003) enacted the
original pilot program, and provided that the program and its
evaluation would be implemented only if the Department of
Finance determined that private funds were made available for
purposes of the costs of the program and its evaluation.
AB 2150 (Rendon, 2014) would have created a new division of
community initiatives and park access within DPR, and called for
the development of a strategic action plan for improving park
access and relevancy for underserved populations. It also
included an emphasis on development of partnerships to address
park and recreational needs of underserved youth and young
adults, and to connect youth with nature and the outdoors. AB
2150 was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 204 (Pavley, 2015), which is currently before Assembly
Appropriates, authorizes, among other things, DPR to accept
donations of money from public or private sources to fund
programs to benefit youth, and to enter into agreements with
public or nonprofit organizations to provide service and
learning opportunities for youth.
SUPPORT
Audubon California
Big Sur Land Trust
Bolsa Chica Land Trust
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California Black Health Network
California Coastal Protection Network
California Council of Land Trusts
California League of Conservation Voters
California Outdoor School Association
California Park and Recreation Society
California Special Districts Association
California State Parks Association
California State Parks Rangers Association
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California State PTA
City of Fairfield
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Vista
Defenders of Wildlife
East Bay Regional Park District
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environment California
Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) Locals
777 & 792
League of California Cities
League to Save Lake Tahoe
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
O'Neill Sea Odyssey
ReLeaf
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
San Diego County Office of Education
Santa Cruz County Office of Education
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Club California
Sonoma County Water Agency
Tahoe Resource Conservation District
OPPOSITION
None Received
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