No Child Left Inside Act Passed

The House of Representatives approved two important amendments today in passing the No Child Left Inside Act that will directly benefit park and recreation agencies once the bill is passed into law by both chambers of Congress. The amendments, one offered by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) to include municipalities as eligible entities for grants, and one offered by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), to require eligible grant entities to outline how they will partner with local park and recreation agencies to carry out the intent of the legislation, soundly place parks and recreation into the heart of this landmark bill. The NCLI Act is intended to provide new resources for states to provide environmental education opportunities to students, provide funds for teacher training, and encourage teachers and schools get kids outdoors with hands-on field experiences to enhance learning and develop environmental literacy.

In the colloquy among the Democratic and Republican members of Congress on the two amendments, Rep. Courtney and Rep. Welch each gave ringing endorsements of the value of local and state park and recreation agencies being essential partners in fulfilling the nationwide goal of providing better environmental education opportunities to students of all ages.

NRPA members, state affiliates, and allies of NRPA are to be truly commended for the outstanding advocacy effort on this bill. Just a few weeks ago, the prospect of including parks and recreation centrally in the bill language was all but dead. To have these amendments adopted and to have had such a spirited discussion on the floor of the House today about the importance of parks and recreation to the education of our nation's youth was a stunning achievement.

This bill will not be taken up by the Senate during this session of Congress. Next year, during the 111th Congress, we anticipate seeing movement on this bill with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, where NCLI will likely be reworked somewhat. Nonetheless, this was a very important step forward in placing parks and recreation front and center in the national effort to provide safe, healthy opportunities to kids to learn about the environment and spend time outdoors, and due to NRPA advocacy, a significant legislative achievement for parks and recreation nationally.