BILL NUMBER:  S1920A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
providing loan forgiveness for agriculture educators

 PURPOSE :

To provide loan forgiveness for agriculture educators and promote the
teaching and study of agricultural education

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends the education law by adding a new section 679-h to
provide the New York State Agriculture Educators Loan Forgiveness
Incentive Program. This section defines agricultural educator and
provides the purpose, eligibility, and awards associated with the
program, specifying that agriculture educators must be employed as an
agriculture educator and reside in New York for a period of at least
two years to be eligible for the program.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Agricultural education is a systematic program of instruction
available to students desiring to learn about the science, business,
              

and technology of plant and animal production, and about the
environmental and natural resources systems. Agricultural education
first became a part of the public education system in 1917 when the
U.S. Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act.

There are approximately 1,000,000 agricultural education students in
the nation who are taught by nearly 12,000 secondary and two-year
postsecondary teachers. It is estimated that the contact hours of
in-school instruction in and about agriculture exceed 10 million
annually. School-based agricultural education in the United States
consists of three closely related components, including: (1)
classroom/laboratory instruction (2) experiential learning/education
(3) leadership development. The interaction of these three components
helps to ensure students' career success or continuation with higher
education related to agriscience and/or agribusiness following high
school graduation.

Organized instruction is the classroom and laboratory component of
agricultural education. This instruction may be carried out in a
classroom, laboratory, greenhouse, or outdoor setting. Classroom and
laboratory instruction include units based on natural and social
sciences such as environmental science, agribusiness, natural
resources, aquaculture, food science and safety, animal and plant
sciences, entrepreneurship, and many other areas. However students
enrolled in these courses have the unique opportunity to apply their
core content concepts in an agriculturally related context. For
example, when using the STEM model, a student learning about hydrogen
and covalent bonding in chemistry is able to apply these concepts when
examining the chemistry of food processing. By enhancing their core
content knowledge base with agriculture, students gain the real-world
experiences that enhance college and career readiness.

Agricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a
lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber,
and natural resources systems. However, The National Association of
Agricultural Educators believes that there are not enough agriculture
teachers to meet the current demand. By providing loan forgiveness to
agriculture educators who are employed as agriculture educators and
reside in New York for at least two years, New York can help to combat
this deficiency.
 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-2016: S.4963 Passed the Senate/A.7287 Referred to Higher
Education.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1920B

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
providing loan forgiveness for agriculture educators

 
PURPOSE:

To provide loan forgiveness for agriculture educators and promote the
teaching and study of agricultural education

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the education law by adding a new section 679-j to
provide the New York State Agriculture Educators Loan Forgiveness Incen-
tive Program. This section defines agricultural educator and provides
the purpose, eligibility, and awards associated with the program.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

Agricultural education is a systematic program of instruction available
to students desiring to learn about the science, business, and technolo-
gy of plant and animal production, and about the environmental and
natural resources systems. Agricultural education first became a part of
the public education system in 1917 when the U.S. Congress passed the
Smith-Hughes Act.

There are approximately 1,000,000 agricultural education students in the
nation who are taught by nearly 12,000 secondary and two-year postsecon-
dary teachers. It is estimated that the contact hours of in-school
instruction in and about agriculture exceed 10 million annually. School-
based agricultural education in the United States consists of three
closely related components, including: (1) classroom/laboratory instruc-
tion (2) experiential learning/education (3) leadership development. The
interaction of these three components helps to ensure students' career
success or continuation with higher education related to agriscience
and/or agribusiness following high school graduation.

Organized instruction is the classroom and laboratory component of agri-
cultural education. This instruction may be carried out in a classroom,
laboratory, greenhouse, or outdoor setting. Classroom and laboratory
instruction include units based on natural and social sciences such as
environmental science, agribusiness, natural resources, aquaculture,
food science and safety, animal and plant sciences, entrepreneurship,
and many other areas. However students enrolled in these courses have
the unique opportunity to apply their core content concepts in an agri-
culturally related context. For example, when using the STEM model, a
student learning about hydrogen and covalent bonding in chemistry is
able to apply these concepts when examining the chemistry of food proc-
essing. By enhancing their core content knowledge base with agriculture,
students gain the real-world experiences that enhance college and career
readiness.

Agricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a
lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber, and
natural resources systems. However, The National Association of Agricul-
tural Educators believes that there are not enough agriculture teachers
to meet the current demand. By providing loan forgiveness to agriculture
educators New York can help to combat this deficiency.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2015-2016: S.4963 Passed the Senate/A.7287 Referred to Higher Education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.