Relates to providing loan forgiveness for agriculture educators who provide didactic instruction to students about agriculture, food, and natural resources.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4011
SPONSOR: Salka TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing loan
forgiveness for agriculture educators
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
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 Incen-
tive Program. This section defines agricultural educator and provides
the purpose, eligibility, and awards associated with the program, speci-
fying 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 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 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.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: A.5452
2017-2018: A.7290-B S.1920B
2015-2016: S.4963 Passed the Senate/A.7287 Referred to Higher Education.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4011
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SALKA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to providing loan
forgiveness for agriculture educators
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 679-k
2 to read as follows:
3 § 679-k. New York state agriculture educators loan forgiveness incen-
4 tive program. 1. Definition. The term "agriculture educator" means an
5 instructor who provides didactic instruction to students about agricul-
6 ture, food and natural resources delivered through lessons in science,
7 communications, leadership, management and technology.
8 2. Purpose. The president shall grant student loan forgiveness awards
9 for the purpose of alleviating the burden of student loan debt for agri-
10 culture educators teaching in the field of agriculture education in New
11 York state. Such awards shall be made on a competitive basis as promul-
12 gated by the corporation for such purposes, to applicants who meet the
13 eligibility criteria. Such rules and regulations shall include
14 provisions for the consideration of applicants who are economically
15 disadvantaged.
16 3. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this section,
17 applicants shall:
18 (a) have graduated and obtained a degree from an approved New York
19 state college or university;
20 (b) have an outstanding student loan debt from obtaining such degree;
21 (c) be employed as a full-time agriculture educator in New York state
22 for at least two years;
23 (d) reside in New York state for at least two years post graduation;
24 (e) apply for this program within two years of college graduation; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07879-01-1
A. 4011 2
1 (f) comply with subdivisions three and five of section six hundred
2 sixty-one of this part.
3 4. Awards. The corporation shall grant such awards within amounts
4 appropriated for such purposes and based on the availability of funds.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
6 have become a law.
