A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds for the green teacher network pilot program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for the 2015‑2016 fiscal year. These funds shall be used by the Green Teacher Network, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for a three‑year pilot program to transform two Title I schools into outdoor learning centers, based on a national model developed by Real Green Schools. Ten years of data on schools using this model show significant improvements in academic performance, teacher effectiveness, and health and behavioral issues at the schools.
Under this model, teachers receive extensive training for three years to connect school gardens to curriculum while supporting healthy eating habits through proven project‑based learning. The total campus is transformed into an outdoor learning center with the support of corporate partners.
Supplemental assessment of the model is being developed through the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
SECTION 1.(b)  As used in this section, a Title I school is a school identified under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2015.