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Lawmakers to Reconsider No Child Left Inside Act
In the coming weeks, Congressional lawmakers are expected to reintroduce a measure aimed at connecting children with nature and outdoor activity, Scripps Howard News Service reports. To be sponsored this year by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the No Child Left Inside Act would require schools to offer environmental education to students in kindergarten through grade 12, and ask school systems to build environmental literacy and raise the bar for faculty training. The measure also would provide federal grants to help schools fund outdoor education initiatives. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year, but Congress ran out of time before finishing work on the measure. According to Scripps, the measure is supported by hundreds of educators, business groups, health care groups and lawmakers, who say that reconnecting children with nature could lead to improved physical and mental health. Research has shown that children who spend more time outdoors have lower rates of diabetes and better control of symptoms of attention-deficit disorder (Chavez, Scripps Howard News Service, 3/17/09).