CA SB720

Designates California's environmental principles and concepts, approved by the Secretary for Environmental Protection and CalRecycle in 2004, as the official environmental principles and concepts for public education in California.

Requires the Instructional Quality Commission to integrate environmental principles and concepts into content standards and curriculum frameworks for English language arts, science, history-social science, health, and mathematics whenever those standards are revised.

Directs the Office of Education and the Environment to update environmental principles and concepts every four years beginning July 1, 2008, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Board of Education, California Environmental Protection Agency, and Natural Resources Agency, with majority input from credentialed public school classroom teachers.

Encourages school district governing boards to embed environmental literacy in local control and accountability plans, provide professional development for educators, build community partnerships, and ensure equitable access to environmental literacy curriculum for grades 1-12.

Requires environmental principles and concepts to include topics such as air, climate change, energy, environmental justice, sustainability, fish and wildlife, oceans, water, pollution prevention, and waste reduction.