RS 17:185.2: Agricultural education; legislative findings; intent

A. The legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) Agriculture is one of the most important industries to the economy in Louisiana.

(2) There is a need to develop agricultural education instructional strategies and content that meet the statewide content standards and support the goals and mission of the statewide accountability system that can be integrated into local curriculum in the elementary and secondary grades to increase knowledge among the citizenry on the social and economic significance of agriculture and its links to human health and environmental quality.

(3) By providing cross-curricular instruction at all grade levels, agricultural literacy will enhance student achievement in core subjects, increase student motivation for learning, and strengthen student understanding of agriculture and its fundamental importance to society.

(4) Students need to understand all of the following:

(a) The role that agriculture plays in the economy.

(b) The role science plays in changing agriculture.

(c) The relationship between agriculture and the environment.

(d) The wide variety of employment opportunities that exist in the industry.

B. It is the intent of the legislature that instructional strategies be developed to integrate agricultural education into a broad range of academic subject areas, provide a stronger career preparation program in keeping with the career options law to meet the needs of a dynamic and competitive agricultural industry, and to provide for better informed citizens in this state.