SECTIONS 51795-51797 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 51795-51797

51795. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) School gardens provide an interactive, hands-on learning
environment in which pupils learn composting and waste management
techniques, fundamental concepts about nutrition and obesity
prevention, and the cultural and historical aspects of our food
supply. School gardens also foster a better understanding and
appreciation of where food comes from, how food travels from the farm
to the table, and the important role of agriculture in the state,
national, and global economy.
(b) Encouraging and supporting school gardens creates
opportunities for children to learn to make healthier food choices,
participate more successfully in their education experiences, and
develop a deeper appreciation of their community.
(c) School garden programs can equally enhance any subject area
including science, environmental education, mathematics, reading,
writing, art, nutrition, physical education, history, and geography.
School gardens provide a unique setting in which improved pupil
performance can be achieved.

51796. (a) The Instructional School Gardens Program is hereby
established for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional
school gardens through the allocation of grants, and through
technical assistance provided, to school districts, charter schools,
or county offices of education. The program shall be administered by
the State Department of Education.
(b) The Superintendent shall convene an interagency working group
on instructional school gardens that shall include, but not be
limited to, representatives of the State Department of Education, the
Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of Public
Health, and the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The
working group shall advise the Superintendent on all of the
following:
(1) Effective and efficient means of encouraging school districts,
charter schools, and county offices of education to develop and
maintain a quality instructional school garden program.
(2) The availability of state and nonstate resources and technical
assistance to help school districts, charter schools, and county
offices of education in establishing and maintaining instructional
school gardens.
(3) Public and private partnerships available to assist school
districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in using
instructional school gardens to complement the academic program of
participating schools.
(c) The Superintendent may establish an advisory group involving
other agencies and groups with expertise in instructional school
gardens, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental
Education Interagency Network. The purpose of the advisory group is
to support program efforts through technical assistance, resources,
in-kind support, site visits, and other related efforts.
(d) (1) The Superintendent shall use existing resources to comply
with subdivisions (b) and (c).
(2) The Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department
of Public Health, and the California Integrated Waste Management
Board shall use existing resources to comply with subdivision (b).

51796.2. (a) A school district, charter school, or county office of
education may apply to the Superintendent for funding for a
three-year grant under this article in a manner determined by the
Superintendent, in order to develop and maintain an instructional
school garden. The application, at a minimum, shall indicate the
school or schools at which the instructional school gardens are, or
are to be, located; the grade level or grade levels to be targeted;
the potential number of classes within the grade levels and number of
pupils who would use the instructional school gardens; and the
intended items of expenditure for any funds received. The application
also shall include an explanation of the six-month reporting
requirement specified in Section 51796.5.
(b) The Superintendent shall distribute the grants applied for
pursuant to subdivision (a) to school districts, charter schools, or
county offices of education as follows:
(1) Each grant shall be not more than two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) per schoolsite, except that a district, charter
school, or county office of education that applies on behalf of at
least one schoolsite with an enrollment of 1,000 or more pupils may
receive a grant of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per
schoolsite with an enrollment of 1,000 or more pupils.
(2) The receipt of a grant during the period from the 2006-07
fiscal year to the 2008-09 fiscal year, inclusive, for instructional
school garden equipment or supplies by a school district, charter
school, or county office of education shall not be dependent on the
receipt of a grant for instructional school garden professional
development by the same district, charter school, or county office.

51796.5. As a condition of the receipt of funds pursuant to this
article, a school district, charter school, or county office of
education, within six months of the final expenditure of funds
received, shall report to the Superintendent, in conjunction with the
interagency working group convened pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 51796, in a manner prescribed by the Superintendent,
regarding the use of funds and the manner in which the instructional
school garden or gardens are used to complement the academic program
of the participating school or schools. A school district or county
office of education may submit one report for all of the schools that
have received grants that are under the jurisdiction of the district
or county office.

51797. During its annual discretionary grant funding process, the
California Integrated Waste Management Board shall give preferential
consideration to providing an appropriate level of funding to the
program established pursuant to this article.