I wanted to share some important information from the Department of Education about the Every Student Succeeds Act and some good news for EE. On Friday, Oct. 21, U.S. Ed issued non-regulatory guidance to the states on the eligible uses of funding under Title IV, Part A of ESSA. This guidance will be relied on heavily by states and school districts as they seek to understand and plan for the use of these new grant funds. The good news for us is that the guidance:
• explicitly addresses EE programs as an allowable activity
• includes Project Learning Tree as an example of the kind of program that may be funded under Title IV Part A and,
• references NAAEE’s Guidelines for Excellence in K-12 Learning, UL’s E-STEM awards program, and U.S. Green Ribbon Schools
As a result, the guidance offers a powerful tool for communicating with school district leaders about how environmental education programs can support school districts in their efforts to provide students with a well-rounded education. The inclusion of these examples and resources is a result of NAAEE and its partner advocates' outreach to the U.S. Department of Education about EE and the Title IV grant programs. Congratulations and thank you!

For your convenience, a link to the full guidance and a summary of the relevant text on EE are attached.
Please share this language with your networks! And stay tuned for additional resources as we learn more. Let me know if you have questions, suggestions for additional information, or need further assistance.

Sarah
sarah@naaee.org