[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7731 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7731

     To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for new 
         agricultural education programs in secondary schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2024

Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Langworthy, 
Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Alford, and Ms. Porter) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for new 
         agricultural education programs in secondary schools.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Growing Opportunities in Agriculture 
Act'' or the ``GO Ag Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEW AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

    (a) Grant Program Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award, on a 
        competitive basis, grants to eligible entities to support the 
        creation of new agricultural education programs in secondary 
        schools.
            (2) Grant duration.--A grant awarded under this section may 
        not exceed a 5-year grant period.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--To receive a grant under this section, an 
        eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require, including--
                    (A) an identification and the role with respect to 
                each program to be funded under the grant of any 
                eligible partners of the eligible entity, including an 
                assurance the grant under this section will not be used 
                to prepare students for employment with solely one or 
                more of such eligible partners;
                    (B) an assurance that each program that will 
                receive assistance under the grant is not yet in 
                operation and such grant will be used to start such 
                program;
                    (C) a description of the grant budget, how each 
                program will fund necessary expenses for the program 
                not covered by the grant (such as any funds to be 
                provided by State, local, or private entities), and how 
                the eligible entity will continue each such program 
                after the grant is exhausted;
                    (D) a description of how grant will directly 
                benefit students, including special populations, served 
                by the eligible entity;
                    (E) a description of how each such program will be 
                coordinated with the activities carried out under 
                section 124 or 135 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
                Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344; 2355);
                    (F) a description of how each such program reflects 
                the needs of regional, State, or local employers, as 
                demonstrated by the comprehensive needs assessment 
                under section 134(c) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
                Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2354(c)) 
                carried out by the eligible entity; and
                    (G) an assurance that the eligible entity will--
                            (i) provide information to the Secretary, 
                        as requested, for the evaluation under 
                        subsection (d) and any evaluations that the 
                        Secretary may carry out; and
                            (ii) make data available to third parties 
                        for validation, in accordance with applicable 
                        data privacy laws, including section 444 of the 
                        General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
                        1232g, commonly known as the ``Family 
                        Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974'').
            (2) Process.--The Secretary shall create a process for 
        evaluating applications submitted under paragraph (1) and 
        determining the amount of each grant for successful 
        applications, except that in no case may an eligible entity 
        receive a grant exceeding $100,000.
    (c) Uses of Funds.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant under 
this section shall use such grant for the creation of new agricultural 
education programs in secondary schools, which may include--
            (1) curriculum development and delivery, including 
        classroom or laboratory instruction, work-based learning, and 
        leadership education delivered through career and technical 
        student organizations;
            (2) the purchase of equipment, technology, and course 
        materials; and
            (3) other costs the Secretary may determine to be eligible.
    (d) Evaluation and Annual Report.--Each eligible entity receiving a 
grant under this section shall provide for an independent evaluation of 
the activities carried out using such grant and submit to the Secretary 
an annual report that includes--
            (1) a description of how the grant was used;
            (2) the performance of each program assistance with such 
        grant with respect to, at a minimum, the performance indicators 
        described under section 113 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
        Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2323), as 
        applicable, and disaggregated--
                    (A) by subgroups of students described in section 
                1111(c)(2)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(c)(2)(B)); and
                    (B) by each special population; and
            (3) a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of each 
        such program.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agricultural education.--The term ``agricultural 
        education'' means career and technical education that is 
        focused on agriculture, including classroom or laboratory 
        instruction, work-based learning, and leadership education 
        delivered through career and technical student organizations.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``eligible recipient'' in section 
        3(21)(A) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
        Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302(21)(A)).
            (3) Eligible partner.--The term ``eligible partner'' 
        means--
                    (A) an institution of higher education or a 
                consortium of such institutions; or
                    (B) a community stakeholder relevant to a program 
                to be funded under this section, including a labor 
                organization, a local or regional business or industry, 
                or a local workforce development board.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000, to remain available 
through fiscal year 2027.
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