Bill Text: HI HB1102 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii House Bill 1102 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating To Agriculture Education.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-15 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Aquino, DeCoite, Nakamura, Quinlan, Thielen excused (5). [HB1102 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HB1102-Amended.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1102
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE EDUCATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the average age of farmers in Hawaii is over sixty years, and Hawaii does not have an adequate-sized farming workforce for expansion of cultivated agricultural lands and food production. A primary cause of the shortage of new farmers in Hawaii during the past several decades is the decline of support for agriculture education from state government, including training for agriculture teachers, resulting in an insufficient interest in pursuing the fields of agriculture and natural resource management among youth. Prospective farmers face challenges in terms of access to land, and farming today requires a more diverse skill set than in the past, including crop and livestock production, marketing, food safety, regulatory compliance, environmental stewardship, business skills, and more. Whereas ancestral Hawaiians were completely self-sufficient, today Hawaii imports approximately eighty-five to ninety per cent of our food, and the health of Hawaii's people, �āina, and food systems is suffering.

In order to meet the State's aspirations for increased food security and self-sufficiency, the number of local farms and farmers and the amount of food produced for local markets will need to increase significantly. Agriculture education is key to the development of future farmers and to a society that values and understands the vital role of agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resource systems in advancing personal, local, and global well-being. During the past decade, a vibrant grassroots movement in support of agriculture education has emerged in Hawaii, along with a marked increase in new farmer training programs and student involvement in Future Farmers of America.

To encourage this momentum, the Hawaii state senate passed Senate Resolution No. 80, Regular Session of 2015, that requested the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources to "convene a working group to develop a coordinated framework of support for preschool through post-secondary (P-20) agriculture education and a plan for implementation", including any proposed legislation, through annual reports to the legislature prior to the 2017, 2018, and 2019 legislative sessions.

For three years, the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources has convened the P‑20 agriculture education working group, which includes governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The group's final report to the 2019 legislature outlines a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii and asserts that implementation of the framework will require that a P-20 agriculture education coordinator position be established within the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources and funded for the purposes of overseeing ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and spearheading the implementation plan.

The legislature finds that effectuation of the coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii by the P-20 agriculture education coordinator and working group will result in the following desired outcomes:

(1) Increased number of students exposed to agriculture education at all levels (P-20) in public, charter, and independent schools;

(2) Increased number of public school students entering and completing the career and technical education natural resources career pathway in agriculture;

(3) Increased number of students entering and completing higher education programs in agriculture and food systems;

(4) Increased number of teachers trained in agriculture education;

(5) Increased number of local farms and farmers; and

(6) Increased local food supply and food security.

The purpose of this Act is to establish and fund the P-20 agriculture education coordinator position within the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead the implementation plan for a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii.

SECTION 2. Chapter 304A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§304A- P-20 agriculture education coordinator. There is established within the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources the position of coordinator of preschool through post-secondary (P-20) agriculture education to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead implementation of the coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii."

SECTION 3. The P-20 agriculture education coordinator and working group shall carry out the implementation plan for the coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii as follows:

(1) Teacher development: Prioritize teacher training in agriculture and food systems education at all levels (P-20) for those preparing to become teachers ("pre-service teachers"), as well as additional professional development for those already in classrooms ("in-service teachers");

(2) Curricular integration: Integrate agriculture education into the core curriculum in all subject areas at all levels (P-20);

(3) Agriculture educators: Establish and fund positions at the state, community, and school levels that directly support teacher development and curricular integration around agriculture and food systems; and

(4) Capacity building:

(A) Continue communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and subcommittees;

(B) Plan and conduct ongoing needs assessments and progress evaluations;

(C) Cultivate new partnerships and seek alignment with other relevant initiatives, including the department of labor and industrial relations agriculture workforce advisory group;

(D) Identify and write proposals for additional sources of funding; and

(E) Oversee publication of an annual report to the legislature.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 to establish and fund the P-20 agriculture education coordinator position within the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead the implementation plan for a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2150.

Report Title:

University of Hawaii; P-20 Agriculture Education Coordinator; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes and appropriates funds for the P-20 Agriculture Education Coordinator position within the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Specifies duties of the Coordinator and P-20 agriculture education working group. (HB1102 HD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.