ELP’s serve as a central component of the No Child Left Inside movement (NCLI) of 2008 which the United States House of Representatives passed on September 18, 2008.
[2] The purpose of an ELP is to create a comprehensive education plan for environmental literacy that can be evaluated on the basis of student learning outcomes.
[5] Clear and supported learning standards are required to ensure high school graduates possess a determined degree of environmental literacy.
As designated by the NCLI act of 2008 funding tampers off after the initial year of implementation and eventually reduces to 50% of total program expenses.
The ELP also considers how federal and state education-related legislation and initiatives such as IDEA or STEM funding will be integrated into the overall environmental literacy program.