Maryland Schools Must Teach Environmental Education

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Maryland officials have ruled that schools must include environmental education in their pre-kindergarten through 12th grade classes. The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to make environmental education part of students' education, but it will not be an official graduation requirement. Still, all students must complete a "local action" project to improve the environment either individually or with their school. It's not clear how much schools will change as a result. In Montgomery County, for example, students already create butterfly gardens and vegetable patches, and "Green Teams" collect recycling items. Beginning in 2015, superintendents will have to certify every five years that the regulation's requirements are met. SOURCE: WUSA9