S 7637: Establishes the commission for agricultural education excellence to assist in developing a statewide plan for increasing agricultural literacy and supporting agricultural education; provides for the membership and powers and duties of such commission; requires the commission to file an annual report with the governor and the legislature.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7637 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the commission for agricultural education excellence The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 141 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 141. Commission for agricultural education excellence. 1. There is 4 hereby established within the department the commission for agricultural 5 education excellence to assist in developing a statewide plan for 6 increasing agricultural literacy and supporting agricultural education. 7 The commissioner shall implement the requirements of the commission 8 within funds available to the department and in conjunction with the 9 department of agriculture and markets, and the department of labor as 10 provided for under this section. 11 2. (a) The commission shall consist of nineteen members to be 12 appointed as follows: 13 (i) the commissioner, or their designee; 14 (ii) the commissioner of agriculture and markets, or their designee; 15 (iii) the commissioner of labor, or their designee; 16 (iv) the dean of the college of agriculture and life sciences of 17 Cornell university, or their designee; 18 (v) the executive director of agriculture education and outreach at 19 Cornell university; 20 (vi) a member of the New York agriculture in the classroom advisory 21 committee appointed by the chair; 22 (vii) the president of New York FFA; 23 (viii) the director of the Cornell cooperative extension, or their 24 designee; 25 (ix) the president of New York State 4-H; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10115-02-5 
 S. 7637 2 1 (x) ten members who shall be jointly appointed by the commissioner, 2 the commissioner of agriculture and markets, and the commissioner of 3 labor from lists submitted by the temporary president of the senate and 4 the speaker of the assembly, in consultation with the minority leader of 5 the senate and the majority leader and the minority leader of the assem- 6 bly as follows: 7 (1) two farmers; 8 (2) a representative of the agricultural processing and marketing 9 industries; 10 (3) two secondary teachers of agriculture, one from a board of cooper- 11 ative educational services career and technical center and one from a 12 school district appointed by the president of the New York Association 13 of Agricultural Educators; 14 (4) a representative of the state university of New York agricultural 15 and technical colleges that offer agriculture majors, who has a back- 16 ground in or knowledge of agricultural education; 17 (5) a secondary school administrator from a school that conducts an 18 agricultural education program; 19 (6) one member from any college or university that offers state-ap- 20 proved agricultural science teacher preparation programs or a public 21 community college in this state that provides an articulated agricul- 22 tural science teacher education course of study; and 23 (7) two members of the business community with knowledge of agricul- 24 tural education. 25 (b) Each member of the commission shall serve for a term of three 26 years, except that of the initial members so appointed: seven members 27 shall serve for a term of three years, six members shall serve for a 28 term of two years, and six members shall serve a term of one year. Such 29 initial terms shall be randomly determined among the members. Any vacan- 30 cy in the commission shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same 31 manner as the original appointment. 32 (c) The chair of the commission shall rotate on an annual basis 33 between the commissioner, the commissioner of agriculture and markets, 34 and the commissioner of labor, with the commissioner of agriculture and 35 markets chairing the first annual rotation. 36 (d) A majority of the members of the commission then in office shall 37 constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise 38 of any power or function of the commission. 39 (e) Members of the commission shall not receive compensation for their 40 services as members, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary 41 expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties. No 42 member shall be disqualified from holding any other public office or 43 employment by reason of such person's appointment or service as a member 44 notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary. 45 (f) The department, in conjunction with the department of agriculture 46 and markets and the department of labor, shall provide the commission 47 with such staff, equipment, facilities and such other resources as the 48 commission may need to carry out its powers and duties. 49 (g) The commission shall keep a record of all of its proceedings and 50 actions. 51 3. The commission shall: 52 (a) make recommendations on policy, programs, and initiatives aimed 53 at: 54 (i) deepening the public understanding of the agriculture, food, and 55 natural resources industry and the importance of locally sourced food 56 supplies; 
 S. 7637 3 1 (ii) educating the public on the ability of the agricultural industry 2 to assist the state in achieving the goals set by the Climate Leadership 3 and Community Protection Act; 4 (iii) increasing the effectiveness and accountability of agricultural 5 education programs; 6 (iv) addressing industry workforce needs, including attracting and 7 preparing young people for agricultural careers; 8 (v) providing in-service training for agricultural workers in the 9 agricultural industry; and 10 (vi) promoting technology focused jobs and careers in the agricultural 11 industry; 12 (b) consult with secondary schools and boards of cooperative educa- 13 tional services to facilitate articulation agreements with postsecondary 14 institutions of higher education; 15 (c) provide support and technical assistance to supervised agricul- 16 tural experience, also known as work-based learning programs, based on 17 student and industry needs; 18 (d) provide support and technical assistance for K-12 programs using 19 food and agriculture as context for learning; 20 (e) offer support and coordination for statewide and local activities 21 related to FFA programs; 22 (f) offer support and coordination for statewide and local activities 23 related to 4-H programs; 24 (g) investigate, review, and issue an annual report on the status of 25 agricultural literacy and education in the state required pursuant to 26 subdivision four of this section that includes the location of all 27 resources provided by the commission; 28 (h) serve as a link between the agribusiness sector and the agricul- 29 tural literacy and education system to communicate mutual concerns, 30 needs, and projections; 31 (i) establish and maintain a system of increased awareness of agricul- 32 tural literacy education and its continued need to all residents of New 33 York; and 34 (j) study and make recommendations on model curriculum or instruction 35 on agricultural literacy and education in an appropriate place in the 36 curriculum of elementary, middle and high school students. 37 4. By May first, two thousand twenty-six, and by May first of each 38 year thereafter, the commission shall submit a report to the governor 39 and the legislature on the status of agricultural education in the state 40 of New York. The report shall: 41 (a) outline agricultural literacy and education programs and achieve- 42 ments; 43 (b) assess the trends and needs in secondary and both formal and 44 informal postsecondary agricultural education and training; 45 (c) investigate and assess workforce trends of the agriculture, food, 46 and natural resources industry; 47 (d) assess and make programming recommendations for meeting the train- 48 ing needs for individuals not pursuing formal postsecondary education; 49 (e) identify critical needs, challenges and opportunities in the agri- 50 culture, food, and natural resources industry in the state, its work- 51 force, and agricultural communities, and identify how to best strengthen 52 the industry for growth and profitability; 53 (f) consider the manner in which funds are acquired and used to 54 support agricultural education activities; 55 (g) highlight new initiatives and recommend future program needs; 
 S. 7637 4 1 (h) make recommendations on model curriculum or instruction on agri- 2 cultural literacy and education in an appropriate place in the curric- 3 ulum of elementary, middle and high schools; 4 (i) make recommendations to the governor and the legislature regarding 5 legislative and regulatory changes to improve agricultural literacy and 6 education; and 7 (j) be shared annually to the legislative committees with jurisdiction 8 over agricultural, education and labor policy. 9 5. The implementation of this section shall be subject to funds appro- 10 priated to the department, the department of agriculture and markets, 11 and the department of labor for such purposes. The department may accept 12 grants and donations from public and private sources, including the 13 federal government, to pay for costs incurred for the implementation and 14 continuance of the provisions of this section. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.