SECTIONS 8700-8707 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 8700-8707

8700. The Legislature finds and declares that, throughout the state
and nation, there is a growing public awareness of the benefits
derived from a healthy environment and a healthy economy, and that
the citizens of the State of California expect the educational
institutions of this state to provide students with educational
materials that are balanced and objective in their coverage of the
current scientific and economic research on environmental and
ecological issues to enable students to better address and assess
environmental issues as we enter the 21st century.

8701. The Legislature further finds and declares that an informed
public working for the common environmental good through its
democratic institutions at all educational and professional levels
and among all interested private parties can break the chain of
destructive land use, restore land which has been improperly abused,
and build balance and beauty into our cities of the future.

8702. The Legislature further finds and declares that an
educational program is needed that is designed to build necessary
attitudes of stewardship toward the maintenance of the quality of our
common environment and to enable all citizens to use wisely, and not
destructively, the resources at their disposal. These attitudes are
best developed at an early age through programs that encourage
personal responsibility and participation in the local community.

8703. The Legislature further finds and declares that without
appropriate long-term funding, and without effective programs to
encourage efforts and innovations at the school district level, and
without needed materials and meaningful outdoor study opportunities,
conservation education will remain a stepchild in the crowded family
of public education.

8704. The Legislature further finds and declares that man has a
moral obligation to understand the world in which he lives and to
protect, enhance, and make the highest use of the land and resources
he holds in trust for future generations, and that the dignity and
worth of the individual requires a quality environment in which he
can develop the full potentials of his spirit and intellect.

8705. The Legislature further finds and declares that conservation
education should be a means of achieving an educational philosophy
that will help each student develop a healthy attitude of personal
responsibility toward his environment and its resources and provide
him with the concepts, the knowledge, and the skills needed to
contribute meaningfully to the decisionmaking process on issues
involving the environment and its resources.

8706. The Legislature further finds and declares that in all grade
levels, environmental facts should be taught as they relate to each
other, rather than as isolated bits of information, and that students
should become aware of the interrelated nature of living processes,
gain understanding of ecological relationships and of the effect of
human activities upon these relationships, and become sensitive to
the interdependence of man and natural resources.

8707. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter
to encourage development of educational programs for teachers and
students commensurate with the importance of protecting scarce
resources and safeguarding the quality of our environment.