A local government's special districts for education are county offices of education (note that a county office of education can also be called a county department of education or county superintendent of schools) and school districts. This page explores the investments that County Offices of Education are making towards environmental and climate action.
Key Questions
Core Question: What environmental and climate action investments are being made by County offices of Education (COE), and to what extent might these investments be correlated or connected to environmental and climate action by that county jurisdiction’s schools and districts?
County offices of education are also starting to invest in impactful environmental and climate action initiatives for TK–12 schools, staffed by environmental literacy and sustainability coordinators. There are a number of indicators that demonstrate that a county is making investments in environmental and climate action:
Environment-themed initiatives
Staff to coordinate these initiatives
School board policy actions with environmental or climate themes
Focus area action projects (e.g., safe routes, zero waste, school gardens)
Green awards achievement (e.g., Green Ribbon, California Green Business)
Participation in the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) Network
These investments support COEs’ ability to provide backbone support to districts and schools within their region for programs and services related to accelerating environmental and climate action in TK–12 schools. Explore more about these indicators and why they matter in the sections below.
Investments in Environmental and Climate Action Initiatives: Overview
A high impact county-wide initiative provides backbone support to districts and schools within the county in prioritizing environmental and climate action in their school communities. When done with a whole systems mindset, these initiatives provide projects, programs, networks, and services that help districts and schools in their county to catalyze environmental and climate action across their campus facilities (buildings and grounds) and operations, curriculum and instruction, and community and culture.
County offices of education (COEs) support school districts in their county region on things that would be difficult or expensive to do alone, such as professional development programs, special programs for students (e.g., internships, concurrent enrollment at community colleges, service learning projects), and programs for students that are marginalized, in the court and probationary system, or special education. They also provide regulatory functions, craft regional partnerships, support family services, and lead high-impact initiatives.
Investments in Staff Focused on Environmental/Climate Action: Overview
Staff focused on environmental and climate action are coordinators, conveners and communicators for environmental and climate-related activities across functions and departments. In County Offices of Education, these positions have most often been referred to as an “Environmental Literacy and/or Sustainability Coordinator.” This position helps to initiate, intensify, or consolidate environmental and climate action efforts. In order to be most effective, the position should have at least 50% and up to 100% of their job responsibilities focused on projects, programs, networks, and services related to environmental and climate action in TK-12 schools.
Research shows that environmental and climate action for an organization is most effective when coordinated or directed by a compensated full-time employee. If not, initiatives and efforts tend to remain scattered, inconsistent, slow, and ineffective.
Environmental Policies for COEs: Overview
A school board is a group of elected officials, known as trustees, who generally hold any of the responsibilities for a local education agency (LEA): hire superintendents (some county superintendents are elected officials), adopt district policies, monitor budgets, actively listen to public comments, and set priorities in a school district. School boards in California can take action on climate change and environmental sustainability by adopting policies that prioritize environmental issues for the district leadership team.
A school district board of trustees can encourage an overall institutional culture of sustainability through board policies, regulations, resolutions, and other actions that make commitments to environmental literacy and sustainable and climate-ready schools efforts. The California School Boards Association has developed ten sample board policies and administrative regulations designed to address environmental issues.
→ Explore these policies here: CA School Board Policy - Overview and Resources for Environmental and Climate Themed Actions.
CAELI Participation: Overview
The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), led by Ten Strands, was established in 2016 to support implementation of the California Blueprint for Environmental Literacy. CAELI is now a statewide collective action network that seeks to ensure access to high-quality, environment-based learning for all California’s TK–12 students. CAELI is currently organized as a collective active network, with members organized into project initiative teams that strengthen the statewide ecosystem and support efforts to increase awareness, capacity, and agency for environmental literacy.
County office of education staff members can participate in CAELI in a variety of capacities:
Leaders and activators who are networking with each other and working together to develop and implement projects and programs that build capacity for dedicated staff in all fifty-eight counties
Participants who engage with CAELI programs (communities of practice, webinars, meet-ups, and fellowships) and utilize CAELI resources to bring environmental and climate action to the districts and schools in their regions
These opportunities help COE leaders involved in environmental work feel connected to the movement and ecosystem that is driving this work, and to stay up to date on innovative practices and strategies for advancing the work in a variety of contexts.
Note: Since 2017, seven counties have invested in environmental coordinators who are leading high impact environmental initiatives. Other COE/DOEs are launching initiatives and efforts.
California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) Participation Data is another measure of investment in capacity building for COE/DEO staff; however, data may be incomplete prior to 2023-24.
