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To enact sections 901.91 to 901.95 of the Revised | 1 |
Code to establish the healthy farms and healthy | 2 |
schools grant program for the purpose of providing | 3 |
grants to schools to establish nutrition education | 4 |
and agricultural education programs for | 5 |
kindergarteners. | 6 |
Section 1. That sections 901.91, 901.92, 901.93, 901.94, and | 7 |
901.95 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 901.91. As used in sections 901.91 to 901.95 of the | 9 |
Revised Code: | 10 |
(A) "School" means a school operated by a school district | 11 |
board of education, a community school established under Chapter | 12 |
3314. of the Revised Code, or a nonpublic school for which the | 13 |
state board of education prescribes minimum education standards | 14 |
under section 3301.07 of the Revised Code. | 15 |
(B) "School year" means the year beginning on the first day | 16 |
of July and ending on the thirtieth day of June. | 17 |
Sec. 901.92. (A) There is hereby created the healthy farms | 18 |
and healthy schools grant program to provide grants to schools | 19 |
with kindergarten programs for the purpose of educating | 20 |
kindergarten students and their families about the importance of | 21 |
choosing healthy, locally grown or produced foods and to increase | 22 |
awareness of agriculture in this state. The program shall be | 23 |
administered by the director of agriculture. The director shall | 24 |
consult with the department of education and the department of | 25 |
health in establishing the program. | 26 |
(B) Grants may be awarded under this section to schools for | 27 |
any of the following purposes: | 28 |
(1) To provide kindergarteners with nutrition education. The | 29 |
nutrition education shall include student participation that is | 30 |
integrated into regular subjects in the curriculum and shall focus | 31 |
on healthy food choices utilizing agricultural products that are | 32 |
grown or produced in this state. The nutrition education | 33 |
activities shall include parents, caregivers, and community | 34 |
groups in the educational process. | 35 |
(2) Training of teachers and other educational staff on | 36 |
nutrition education and agricultural education; | 37 |
(3) Field trips to farms in this state and other direct | 38 |
agricultural educational experiences that teach children about | 39 |
sources of food, nutrition, and agriculture in this state; | 40 |
(4) The purchase of agricultural products that are grown or | 41 |
produced in this state. | 42 |
(C) The director shall maintain a list of persons involved in | 43 |
agriculture in this state that have agreed to supply food products | 44 |
and other supplies for the purpose of assisting grant recipients | 45 |
in the educational process. | 46 |
Sec. 901.93. (A) Schools that seek a healthy farms and | 47 |
healthy schools grant under sections 901.91 to 901.95 of the | 48 |
Revised Code shall submit an application in the manner and on a | 49 |
form prescribed by the director of agriculture. A grant awarded | 50 |
under those sections shall provide not more than seventy-five per | 51 |
cent of the estimated total cost of the proposed program for which | 52 |
the grant is sought. No individual school shall receive a grant in | 53 |
excess of fifteen thousand dollars in any given school year. An | 54 |
applicant shall provide at least twenty-five per cent of the | 55 |
estimated total cost of the proposed program for which a grant is | 56 |
sought. | 57 |
(B) The director shall evaluate applications annually on the | 58 |
basis of all of the following: | 59 |
(1) The ability of the applicant to complete the program for | 60 |
which the grant is sought; | 61 |
(2) The ability of the applicant to perform adequately one of | 62 |
the purposes for which grants may be sought under divisions (B)(1) | 63 |
to (4) of section 901.92 of the Revised Code; | 64 |
(3) The potential of the program proposed by the grant | 65 |
applicant to increase knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating | 66 |
habits for children, their parents or caregivers, and the | 67 |
community at large; | 68 |
(4) The potential of the program proposed by the grant | 69 |
applicant to increase knowledge about agriculture in this state | 70 |
for children, their parents or caregivers, and the community at | 71 |
large; | 72 |
(5) The ability of the grant applicant to procure locally | 73 |
grown or produced foods for the program proposed by the grant | 74 |
applicant; | 75 |
(6) The potential of the program proposed by the grant | 76 |
applicant to increase markets for agricultural producers that are | 77 |
based in this state; | 78 |
(7) The number of people to be served by the program proposed | 79 |
by the grant applicant; | 80 |
(8) The ability of the applicant for the grant to sustain the | 81 |
program for which the grant is sought; and | 82 |
(9) The overall performance with respect to any previous | 83 |
healthy farms and healthy schools grants received by the grant | 84 |
applicant. | 85 |
In making healthy farms and healthy schools grants, the | 86 |
director shall give preference to schools in which a significant | 87 |
percentage of students are eligible for free lunches. | 88 |
(C) The director shall require a written agreement establishing | 89 |
terms and conditions of a healthy farms and healthy schools grant | 90 |
and may establish procedures for verification of grant | 91 |
expenditures. In addition, the director may establish conditions | 92 |
under which money that is made available to a school via a healthy | 93 |
farms and healthy schools grant may be required to be repaid if | 94 |
the terms and conditions of the grant are not satisfied. | 95 |
Sec. 901.94. The director of agriculture may adopt rules in | 96 |
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are | 97 |
necessary for the administration of sections 901.91 to 901.95 of | 98 |
the Revised Code. | 99 |
Sec. 901.95. There is hereby created in the state treasury | 100 |
the healthy farms and healthy schools grant fund consisting of | 101 |
money appropriated to it by the general assembly. Money in the | 102 |
fund shall be used by the director of agriculture to make grants | 103 |
under the healthy farms and healthy schools grant program | 104 |
established in sections 901.91 to 901.95 of the Revised Code and | 105 |
for the administration of the program. | 106 |