6811: Sustainability

Purpose: The Bellevue School District seeks to minimize our impact on the environment and increase our individual and collective understanding and agency of how we can work towards an ecologically sustainable school district, community, and world.

A. Four Pillars of Sustainability

The four pillars of sustainability practices below serve as a guide for the District’s sustainability commitment:

1. District Resources: District resource decisions support an ecologically sustainable environment, for example:
   1. building, remodeling, and maintaining our facilities including grounds
   2. travel within and outside of the district, including air travel
   3. food and nutrition services as well as outside catering and food and drink items we purchase
   4. amount and types of goods and services
2. Environmental Safety: Consistent with the District’s obligation to keep students and staff safe, the District will prioritize environmental safety in all district buildings by considering sustainability objectives and accounting for changes in weather patterns, air quality, and other health conditions by:
   1. monitoring and filtering air quality
   2. creating alternatives to indoor/outdoor activities when necessary
   3. supporting those with unique health needs; and
   4. anticipating and preparing for future climate-related impacts
3. Collective Understanding: Consistent with the District Vision, the connection between individual and collective choices, actions, and the physical world will be emphasized throughout the student experience including curriculum, instruction, student activities, and services to students.
4. Student Voice: Consistent with the District Vision, the Superintendent and Board will create opportunities for students to provide input into design, implementation, review, and revision of sustainability work in collaboration with other stakeholders.
   
   District staff and volunteers will encourage student voice and agency by developing student expertise and supporting student-driven sustainability activities and projects that tie to community service and increase our community’s knowledge and awareness.

B. Implementation

To implement the four Pillars of Sustainability, the Superintendent will develop a procedure to accompany this policy which includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Action Plan: A three-year action plan for Board approval that sets forth the actions and steps that will be taken beginning with the 2023-24 school year to address each pillar, and will include goals, targets, and measures as defined in Procedure 0150P. The Superintendent will review the action plan annually.
2. Schedule for reducing negative impact and increasing positive impact: A schedule will be developed for reducing our negative impact and increasing our positive impact on the environment aligned to the pillars. For example, a schedule with increasing targets for achieving carbon neutrality, compostable/recyclable packaging, reducing single use materials, reduction of paper, increasing local purchases, increasing use of native plants that minimize the use of water or harmful pesticides, guidance on travel, and reducing electronic or hazardous waste.
3. Timeline for integrating sustainability topics into the curriculum: A timeline for integrating sustainability content into our curriculum will be developed, consistent with State K-12 Environmental and Sustainability Standards and aligned with global competencies.
4. Community engagement: A process for how the District on an ongoing basis will engage the community in becoming and remaining as ecologically sustainable as possible. Community engagement will center student voice and reflect and honor the diversity and multiple perspectives of the community. The process will include the creation and maintenance of a sustainability community advisory group that shall meet no less than twice per school year (and more if appropriate) to provide feedback and recommendations on the District’s sustainability action plan.

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Cross References

• 2320 Field Trips, Excursions and Outdoor Education
• 3112 Student Safety and Wellbeing
• 2410 Graduation Requirements
• 4110 Community Advisory Groups
• 4260 District Facilities 6600 Transportation
• 6640 School-owned Vehicles
• 6800 Safety, Operations and Maintenance of School Property
• 6900 Facilities Planning