Agricultural programs in elementary schools; evaluation

(a) The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Section 20-2-154.2, is authorized to administer an agricultural education program that local school systems may offer in elementary schools. If a local board of education elects to offer an elementary agricultural education program in an elementary school, the local board of education shall agree to implement and fully fund such program in accordance with this Code section and the practices or standards established by the agricultural education program of the Department of Education. The local school system shall employ an agricultural education teacher to provide such program for the elementary school. (b) The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Section 20-2-154.2, shall establish the curriculum for each elementary agricultural education program. Such curriculum shall be grade-appropriate and include instruction in an organized classroom; collaborative learning experiences through investigation and inquiry, including laboratory and site-based learning activities; and personal and leadership development opportunities. (c) The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program, shall provide for a program evaluation regarding the success and impact of the pilot program in place in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years and shall report in writing the results of such evaluation to the House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs and the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee and to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Education and Youth Committee, by December 31, 2022. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-154.3, enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 731, § 2/SB 330; Ga. L. 2022, p. 90, § 1/HB 1303. The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, deleted former subsection (a), which read: “The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program, shall be authorized to establish a pilot program, beginning in the 20192020 school year, to provide for agricul- tural education in elementary schools in this state. The purpose of the pilot program shall be to determine whether and how to implement an elementary agricultural education program state wide.” and redesignated former subsections (b) through (d) as present subsections (a) through (c); rewrote present subsection (a), which read: “The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Sec- 251 20-2-154.3 EDUCATION tion 20-2-154.2, is authorized to select a minimum of six public elementary schools for participation in the pilot program, with one elementary school in each of the six existing regions established by the agricultural education program of the Department of Education. The local board of education for each elementary school selected to be in the pilot program shall agree to implement and fully fund an elementary agricultural education program in such school and to continue to provide such elementary agricultural education program for a period no shorter than three years. The local school system may employ an agricultural education teacher to provide such program for the 20-2-155 elementary school.”; substituted “shall establish” for “and local school systems shall collaborate to establish” in the first sentence in present subsection (b); and in present subsection (c), substituted “pilot program in place in the 2019-2020, 20202021, and 2021-2022 school years and shall report in writing” for “pilot program upon completion of the third year of the pilot program and shall report” and added “, by December 31, 2022” at the end. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2018, p. 731, § 1/SB 330, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Georgia Agricultural Education Act.’” 20-2-155. School climate management program; model codes of behavior and discipline. The State Board of Education shall establish a state-wide school climate management program to help local schools and systems requesting assistance in developing school climate improvement and management processes. Such projects will be designed to optimize local resources through voluntary community, student, teacher, administrator, and other school personnel participation. These processes will be designed for, but will not be limited to, promoting positive gains in student achievement scores, student and teacher morale, community support, and student and teacher attendance, while decreasing student suspensions, expulsions, dropouts, and other negative aspects of the total school environment. The state board upon request of a local school system is authorized to provide the necessary on-site technical assistance to local schools and systems and to offer other assistance through regional and state-wide conferences and workshops, printed material, and such other assistance as may be deemed appropriate under this Code section. The state board shall, upon request of a local school system, produce model codes of behavior and discipline and shall produce guidelines for application and administration of such codes. The results of this program shall be annually presented to the General Assembly for review in determining future appropriations for statelevel technical assistance necessary to perform the duties assigned to the state board under this Code section. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-155, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 18. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000.’” 252 20-2-155 ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC. 20-2-157