Maryland incorporates EE into curriculum

Environmental Education advocates are celebrating a small victory in Maryland this week as the State Board of Education voted unanimously to incorporate environmental education into the state curriculum.

The board did not pass the motion to make environmental education a graduation requirement, but it will be embedded into the curriculum to offer all students the opportunity for EE. The topics will be worked into elementary and middle school curricula as well, ensuring that students receive EE opportunities throughout their school careers.

High school students will not be required to take additional classes in order to graduate, but will have environmental topics worked into their already required classes, such as biology, chemistry and earth science. Under the new requirements, school districts will be required to report how they have incorporated EE into the curriculum every five years.

Many are seeing this as a small victory with a long way to go. It is still possible that Maryland will see an EE graduation requirement in the future, but this is at least one step to make Maryland students more involved in the environment. The hope is that teaching students the basics of environmental issues will help create stewards of our environment for the future, working, for example, to help with the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.