Georgia § 20-2-154 - 3. Pilot program for agricultural education in elementary schools; evaluation of program.

§ 20-2-154. 3. Pilot program for agricultural education in elementary schools; evaluation of program.

The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program, shall be authorized to establish a pilot program, beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, to provide for agricultural 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. The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Section 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 elementary school. The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Section 20-2-154.2, and local school systems shall collaborate to 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. The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program, shall provide for a program evaluation regarding the success and impact of the pilot program upon completion of the third year of the pilot program and shall report 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. (Code 1981, § 20-2-154.3 , enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 731, § 2/SB 330.) Effective date. - This Code section became effective April 27, 2018. 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.'"