119-hr4945

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4945 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4945

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

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 August 8, 2025

Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Alford, Mr. Cuellar, and 
 Mr. Panetta) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Education and 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 2028.
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