HR 71: Requesting the Department of education AND THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN RESILIENCE TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S  secondary agricultural education program and the future farmers of america program.

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Requesting the Department of education AND THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN RESILIENCE TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S  secondary agricultural education program and the future farmers of america program.

     WHEREAS, the State imports more than eighty-five percent of its food and is considered highly vulnerable in its food security; and

     WHEREAS, to address this vulnerability, the State has adopted various food and agricultural self-sufficiency goals that necessitate strategic investment into the local agricultural sector and related trades, particularly through the expansion of education and training opportunities to address the State's declining agricultural workforce; and

     WHEREAS, since 1930, the Department of Education's Secondary Agricultural Education Program, now known as the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Program, and the companion agricultural leadership youth organization, Future Farmers of America, have supported the development of a qualified local agricultural workforce through an experiential educational curriculum; and

     WHEREAS, through agricultural content, Future Farmers of America leadership training, and project-based learning known as the Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, this curriculum teaches students the application of science and academic skills, encourages civic engagement, and exposes them to diverse agricultural career pathways; and

     WHEREAS, before 2000, the Secondary Agricultural Education Program had a robust presence in over thirty high schools and statewide Future Farmers of America enrollment totaled over eight hundred members; and

     WHEREAS, since 2000, however, enrollment in the Program has declined due to policy shifts caused by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, local loss of science credit for agriculture education courses, funding cuts due to implementation of the Weighted Student Formula, closure of the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Education's Secondary Agriculture Teacher Degree Program, and loss of centralized content specialists because of adoption of the School/Community Based Management governance structure; and

     WHEREAS, despite this decline, increased student exposure to agricultural occupations through the emerging regional kitchen initiative and new school gardening and farm-to-school programs offers a unique opportunity to restore and develop the Secondary Agricultural Education Program; and

     WHEREAS, through immediate and targeted professional development, the State can support its food self-sufficiency goals and rising demand for agricultural producers and the many occupations that support agricultural production; and

     WHEREAS, employing an extension agent at the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience offers an efficient professional development solution by performing outreach and creating a direct line of agricultural best practices to local schools conducting Future Farmers of America activities; and

     WHEREAS, many land grant universities have successfully deployed this model of establishing a pipeline from lower to higher education to quickly transfer agricultural technology and knowledge to teachers and students contemplating agricultural careers; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, as one of the best tropical agriculture colleges in the world, is uniquely well-suited to housing an extension agent to enable a high-quality teacher workforce; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Department of Education and the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience are requested to support the Department of Education's Secondary Agricultural Education Program and the Future Farmers of America program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, and President of the University of Hawaii System.

Report Title: 

DOE; UH; CTAHR; Position; Secondary Agricultural Education Program; FFA; Funding