HB2215

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the average age of farmers in Hawaii is sixty years, and Hawaii does not have farming workforce large enough for expansion of cultivated agricultural lands and food production. A primary cause of the shortage of new farmers in Hawaii during the past several decades has been the decline of support for agriculture education from state government, including training for agriculture teachers, resulting in an insufficient interest in pursuing the fields of agriculture and natural resource management among youth.

The legislature finds that prospective farmers in the State face numerous challenges, including access to land. Further, farming today requires a more diverse skill set than in the past, including crop and livestock production, marketing, food safety, regulatory compliance, environmental stewardship, business skills, and more. While ancestral Hawaiians were completely self-sufficient, Hawaii today imports approximately eighty-five to ninety per cent of the State's food, and the health of Hawaii's people, land, and food system is suffering.

The legislature finds that to meet the State's aspirations for increased food security and self-sufficiency, the number of local farms and farmers and the amount of food produced for local markets will need to increase significantly. Agriculture education is key to the development of future farmers and to a society that values and understands the vital role of agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resource systems in advancing personal, local, and global well-being. During the past decade, a vibrant grassroots movement in support of agriculture education has emerged in Hawaii, along with a marked increase in new farmer training programs and student involvement in Future Farmers of America.

To encourage this momentum, the Hawaii state senate passed Senate Resolution No. 80, Regular Session of 2015, that requested the university of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources to "convene a working group to develop a coordinated framework of support for preschool through post-secondary (P-20) agriculture education and a plan for implementation", including any proposed legislation, through annual reports to the legislature prior to the 2017, 2018, and 2019 legislative sessions.

For three years, the university of Hawaii at Manoa college of tropical agriculture and human resources convened the P-20 agriculture education working group, which includes governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The group's final report to the 2019 legislature outlines a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii. The legislature finds that effectuation of the coordinated framework of support for P‑20 agriculture education in Hawaii by the workforce development coordinator and the P-20 agriculture education working group will result in an increased:

(1) Number of students exposed to agriculture education at all levels (P-20) in public, charter, and independent schools;

(2) Number of public school students entering and completing the career and technical education natural resources career pathway in agriculture;

(3) Number of student entering and completing higher education programs in agriculture and food systems;

(4) Number of teachers trained in agriculture education;

(5) Number of local farms and farmers; and

(6) Local food supply and food security.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish and fund the workforce development coordinator position within the department of agriculture to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead the implementation plan for a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii.

SECTION 2. Chapter 141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§141- Workforce development coordinator. There is established within the department of agriculture the position of coordinator of preschool through post-secondary (P-20) agriculture education to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead implementation of the coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii."

SECTION 3. The workforce development coordinator and the P-20 agriculture education working group, convened pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 80, regular session of 2015, shall carry out the implementation plan for the coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii as follows:

(1) Teacher development: Prioritize teacher training in agriculture and food systems education at all preschool through postsecondary schooling levels, including:

(A) Pre-service teachers, or those individuals preparing to become a teacher; and

(B) In-service teachers, or those individuals who currently teach in a classroom;

(2) Curricular integration: Integrate agriculture education into the core curriculum in all subject areas at all preschool through postsecondary schooling levels;

(3) Agriculture educators: Establish and fund positions at the state, community, and school levels that directly support teacher development and curricular integration around agriculture and food systems; and

(4) Capacity building: Engage in actions that foster capacity building in support of strengthened and expanded agriculture education in the State by:

(A) Continuing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and subcommittees;

(B) Planning and conducting ongoing needs assessments and progress evaluations;

(C) Cultivating new partnerships and seeking alignment with other relevant initiatives, including the department of labor and industrial relations agriculture workforce advisory group;

(D) Identifying and writing proposals for additional sources of funding; and

(E) Overseeing publication of an annual report to the legislature.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for a workforce development coordinator position within the department of agriculture to oversee ongoing communication and collaboration of the P-20 agriculture education working group and to lead the implementation plan for a coordinated framework of support for P-20 agriculture education in Hawaii.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2215
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII