H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 8.9 of S.L. 2023-134 requires the Agriculture Extension of North Carolina State University to provide funding to the North Carolina Future Farmers of America (FFA) to provide and administer grants for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years to fund items necessary for the agriculture education program operated as a part of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at a given middle or high school within a public school unit. A public school unit or a regional partnership of more than one public school unit can apply to receive funds. When awarding grants, FFA must prioritize public school units that meet the following criteria:

• Are located, in whole or in part, in a county with at least one local school administrative unit that received low-wealth supplemental funding in the previous fiscal year.
• Have a high population of at-risk students or students with disabilities.

Grant recipients can make items purchased with grant funds available to any student within the public school unit or partnership regardless of whether the student is identified as at-risk or a student with a disability.

FFA must create and make available an application for grants no later than 30 days after the act becomes law (October 3, 2023). Applicants must submit applications to receive grant funds to FFA by June 15, 2024. Applications must be approved or denied within 30 days.

Grant recipients must submit a report to FFA no later than October 15, 2024, on the outcomes of any programs funded by the grants, including data collection methods for reporting on student outcomes, impacts of the program, and use of State funds. FFA must submit a report on the overall outcomes of the grant program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division by December 15, 2024.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.