FY2009 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION INCENTIVE FUNDING GRANT

BACKGROUND

In 1986, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 84-1452 to revitalize agricultural education in Illinois.  To support the Act, an appropriation of funds for the improvement of education in and about agriculture, K-adult, was incorporated into the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) annual budget.  The Career Development and Preparation Division of ISBE administers the funds with advisement from the Illinois Committee for Agricultural Education (ICAE) which is appointed by the Governor.  The funds are allocated to meet the objectives of the Illinois Plan for Agricultural Education and Illinois First Through Quality Agricultural Education: A Strategic Plan for Illinois Agricultural Education. The allocation supports local program improvement, curriculum development, teacher inservice, field support services, program coordination, pilot projects, and other important initiatives.  All local education agencies (LEAs) offering approvable programs in agricultural education at the secondary level are eligible to apply for incentive grants.  (An approvable program must be sequential, offering at least one orientation and two preparation-level courses.)  Program approval may be received by submitting appropriate descriptive information to the Career Development and Preparation Division through the appropriate Education for Employment (EFE) System Director.

Contingent on the availability of funds, an amount will be allocated for incentive grants to fund local agricultural education program improvement efforts.  These funds will flow to local LEAs through the Education for Employment Regional Delivery System according to an electronic application process.  The application is designed to allow districts to assess their agricultural education program offerings as they relate to the quality indicators outlined in the Illinois First Through Quality Agricultural Education document.  These funds were appropriated strictly as supplemental funds and are not to supplant resources currently used from local, regional, state or federal sources.

The application is a measure of programmatic components currently in place.  It is recommended that supplemental funds be used to update and improve the agricultural education program, not to maintain the status quo.  Of particular concern to ISBE and ICAE is the need to expand and improve the content areas of agriscience and agribusiness.  Production agriculture continues to be important, but should not be the extent of the agricultural education program.

It is important to note that it is not the intent of anyone to suggest that high-quality components and programs do not exist.  The intent is to assist local programs in assessing their strengths and to provide additional resources to enhance total program quality.  Because each district will qualify for varying amounts based upon their quality indicators, there is potential for some districts to receive less and other districts to receive more.

If you need additional information regarding the FY2009 Agricultural Education Incentive Funding Grant, please contact Harley Hepner, Agricultural Education Consultant, at 217/782-4620.