Bill > SB785

This bill establishes the Agriculture Education Scholarship Program within the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to provide financial support for students pursuing careers as agriculture teachers in high schools. The program will offer grants covering the cost of one full-time academic year to qualified students enrolled in agriculture programs that prepare them to teach subjects like farming, forestry, rangeland, and natural resources. To be eligible, students must meet the definition of a "qualified student" as defined in existing Oregon law. The scholarship aims to address potential teacher shortages in agricultural education by incentivizing students to become high school agriculture teachers. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission will develop rules to identify qualifying agriculture programs and determine grant award criteria. The program will first apply to the 2026-2027 academic year, and the state has appropriated $1,000,000 from the General Fund for the 2025-2027 biennium to support the program's administration and implementation.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/SB785