A State plan would call for heads of the various State agencies to serve on a State council for environmental education, to coordinate planning and to assist local groups. Staff support should come from each of the agencies. participating on the council. A principal recommendation is that an environmental study center be designated or developed in each State. The center would provide the primary staff support for the education section of the council and would also be the focal point for coordination,. reference services, conferences, seminars, curriculum development, and other State-wide activi ies. The State plan will consider, as a matter of course, the various other factors of Environment 1/Ecological Education ranging from public awareness to manpower training. It is, therefore, a workable plan or the best use of local, county, State and Federal resources and funds. 32 : V. FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR LOCAL INITIATIVE Active community participation in planning and creating educational innovation will be emphasized by the Office of Education. The State Plan for Environmental/ Ecological Education provides a voluntary and practical mechanism for recording and interrelating the needs and resources of individual communities. The State Plan--and particularly the planning process--will permit communities and States to identify problems, resources and needs. The Federal role will be two-fold: First, to coordinate dissemination, and to support activities on a regional basis through the Regional Assistant Commissioner for Education; and second, to coordinate the activities of the various Federal agencies in an overall environmental education The decision by OE to assign local vironmental/ Ecological Education Program responsibility to the 10 Regional Assistant Commissioners of Education is based on the need to insure direct and frequent comau ication between Federal, State and local educational age: cies across the 333 Nation. The strategic location of the Commissioner's personal representatives in each of the 10 regions will permit local school leaders to seek and receive assistance for developing local and State programs in response to national goals. At the same time the Office of Education will be placed in a key position to identify, evaluate and select innovative and exciting activities developed at the local level and then call these worthy models to the attention of educators across the Nation. This direction, and some other coordinating aspects of EEE, will be the responsibility of the Washington office. Each Regional Assistant Commissioner of Education will assist each State* in his specific geographical area to develop its own plan and will assist State educational agencies to: Evaluate environmental projects within the region. within the region and between regions. Responsibility for working with the District of Columbia will be retained in Washington. 34 Determine priorities and specific projects • Assist with the coordination of activities within ecological areas (watershed, etc.) that cross OE regional boundaries. Develop, with EEE core staff in Washington, overall O plans and support for environmental National Coordination It is necessary to create programs and working. relationships between established government agencies for the purpose of more effectively utilizing existing skills and minimizing duplication of effort. : Throughout the Federal government there is à vast wealth of well trained and experienced individuals with skills directly relevant to Environmental/Ecological Education. The Office of Education's special effort in coordination will identify individuals and agencies with experience in planning. This cooperative effort will receive OE's support and is considered essential if the appropriate resources are |