House File 559 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 559
BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
(SUCCESSOR TO HF 389)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act establishing an agriculture education grant
2 program within the department of education and making
3 appropriations.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 256.20 Agriculture education grant
2 program.
3 1. As used in this section:
4 a. “Agriculture education program” means all of the
5 following:
6 (1) Instructional programs provided by school districts
7 to students enrolled in grades nine through twelve under
8 section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph “h”, subparagraph (1),
9 subparagraph division (a).
10 (2) Programs for career and technical education in
11 agriculture technology provided by school districts to students
12 under section 280.20.
13 b. “Personal services costs” means the costs associated
14 with a school district employing a teacher for a maximum of
15 sixty days of additional instruction outside of the teacher’s
16 regularly scheduled teaching duties to provide instruction in
17 an agriculture education program.
18 2. The department shall establish an agriculture education
19 grant program to expand student access to instruction related
20 to agriculture, food, and natural resources.
21 3. A school district may apply to the department for grants
22 under this section to offset the personal services costs
23 associated with employing teachers to provide instruction in an
24 agriculture education program. The maximum annual amount of a
25 grant the department may award to a school district under this
26 section shall not exceed:
27 a. One hundred percent of the personal services costs
28 associated with a teacher providing instruction in an
29 agriculture education program if the school district’s
30 agriculture education program has existed for less than ten
31 consecutive years.
32 b. Fifty percent of the personal services cost associated
33 with a teacher providing instruction in an agriculture
34 education program for all other programs.
35 4. Moneys awarded under this section shall be used to
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1 supplement, not supplant, existing public funding used by a
2 school district for similar purposes.
3 5. The department shall develop and make available to
4 school districts a statewide system to track the time teachers
5 devote to instruction facilitated by grants provided under this
6 section.
7 6. An agriculture education grant program fund is
8 established in the state treasury. The fund shall be
9 administered by the department and shall consist of moneys
10 appropriated by the general assembly and any other moneys
11 received by the department for deposit in the fund. The
12 moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for the
13 agriculture education grant program. Notwithstanding section
14 8.33, moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall
15 not revert to the general fund of the state but shall remain
16 available for expenditure for the agriculture education grant
17 program for subsequent fiscal years. Notwithstanding section
18 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund
19 shall be credited to the fund.
20 7. The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A
21 to administer this section, including rules related to grant
22 application materials, eligibility requirements, and award
23 criteria.
24 EXPLANATION
25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
26 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
27 This bill establishes an agriculture education grant program
28 within the department of education (DE) to expand student
29 access to instruction related to agriculture, food, and natural
30 resources.
31 The bill defines “agriculture education program” as
32 instructional programs provided by school districts to students
33 enrolled in grades 9 through 12 in the agriculture, food,
34 and natural resources portion of the career and technical
35 education instruction and programs provided by school districts
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1 under Code section 280.20 (career and technical agriculture
2 education), and “personal services costs” as the costs
3 associated with a school district employing a teacher for
4 a maximum of 60 days of additional instruction outside of
5 the teacher’s regularly scheduled teaching duties to provide
6 instruction in an agriculture education program.
7 The bill authorizes school districts to apply to DE for
8 grants under the program to offset the personal services costs
9 associated with employing teachers to provide instruction in an
10 agriculture education program. The department of education may
11 award a grant to a school district under the program totaling
12 100 percent of the teacher’s personal services costs if the
13 school district’s agriculture education program has existed
14 for less than 10 consecutive years and totaling 50 percent of
15 the teacher’s personal services costs for all other programs.
16 School districts must use these moneys to supplement, not
17 supplant, existing public funding used by a school district
18 for similar purposes. The bill establishes an agriculture
19 education grant program fund in the state treasury.
20 The bill requires DE to develop and make available to
21 school districts a statewide system to track the time teachers
22 devote to instruction facilitated by grants provided under the
23 program.
24 The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules
25 to administer the program.
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