WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Scott Tipton (R-CO) introduced bipartisan legislation on February 13 to make permanent an existing national parks program that allows U.S. fourth-grade students, and their families, to visit any federally-managed parks, lands or waters for free for an entire year.

The popular, low-cost program was first established in 2015 by U.S. Department of the Interior to encourage children and their families to visit America’s public lands.

In the program’s first year alone, more than two million fourth-grade students downloaded the Every Kid in a Park pass. However, despite its popularity, the program has not yet been established into federal law, making it vulnerable to future budget cuts or the whims of a future administration.

If approved, the legislation – known as the “Every Kid Outdoors Act” – would codify the program into law, making it permanent and irrevocable by any future administration.

“Children are our future,” DeGette said. “If we’re able to get them more interested in our public lands now, research shows that they are much more likely to become good stewards of these national treasures later on down the road.”

“As a life-long resident of western Colorado, national parks and monuments have been the backdrop of countless memories, and I want to make sure that all kids have the same opportunity to experience these treasures,” Tipton said. “Economic barriers should not prevent children and their families from visiting these sites that belong to every one of us.”

The Every Kid in a Park program allows U.S. fourth-grade students to print a pass online and present it to a park ranger for free entry into any of the more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters throughout the nation. The pass also grants free entry to up to three adults and any other children under the age of 16 who are visiting with that fourth-grade student.

Research shows that children ages nine to 11 are beginning to learn about the world around them and are most likely to connect with nature and our history. Research also shows that time spent outdoors increase physical and mental health, improves academic performance and encourages public lands stewardship.

The pass can be used to enter any of Colorado’s four national parks – Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain – as well as 60 other nationally designated sites throughout the state. 

In addition to DeGette and Tipton, the bill is sponsored by Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Tom Graves (R-GA).

A nearly identical version of the bill was approved by the House last year, by a vote of 383 to 2. That bill, however, was not voted on by the Senate.