SB 341 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Instructional School Gardens Program: reestablishment: Department of Food and Agriculture.

Summary

Existing law establishes the Instructional School Gardens Program 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. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to administer the program, as provided. This bill would revise and recast the Instructional School Gardens Program by, among other things, reestablishing the program under the administration of the Department of Food and Agriculture for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional school gardens through the allocation of grants and the provision of technical assistance to support instructional school garden programming in school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools. The bill would require the department to convene a working group consisting of the department, the State Department of Education, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and instructional school garden community-based organizations. The bill would require the working group to advise and assist the Department of Food and Agriculture in carrying out the program, as provided. The bill would establish the Instructional School Gardens and Maintenance Fund in the State Treasury and would require moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for purposes of the program, as specified. This bill, contingent upon an appropriation or receipt of sufficient private funds, as specified, for its purposes, would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, and in consultation with the working group, to develop a competitive grant process, including selection criteria, goals, prioritizations, and guidelines, for purposes of the program, as provided. The bill would require eligible applicants to be local educational agencies or other entities that have an established track record of operating outdoor, experiential learning programs in schools and that are in partnership, as defined, with at least one local educational agency, and would require applicants to designate one of 2 grant categories for each proposed schoolsite, as provided, and to submit a plan and measurable outcomes for a program of experiential, outdoor instruction that meet specified requirements. Before developing the competitive grant process, the bill would require the department to hold at least 2 public meetings to gather public input on the development of the competitive grant process.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/22/25 - Amended Senate → SB341 · 3 edits

MINOR

The amended version tightens eligibility requirements for non-school applicants and adds an exemption for expanded learning programs. Community-based organizations and other private entities seeking grants must now demonstrate an established track record of operating outdoor experiential learning programs in schools, and their partnership with a local educational agency must be formally confirmed by a written document. Additionally, the standards-aligned curriculum requirement no longer applies to programming delivered as part of an expanded learning opportunity program under Section 46120.

ELIGIBILITY

Non-LEA applicants (community-based organizations and other private entities) must now have an established track record of operating outdoor, experiential learning programs in schools. This requirement was not explicitly stated in the prior version's main eligibility clause.

The partnership between a community-based organization or private entity and a local educational agency must now be 'confirmed by' a memorandum of understanding, services agreement, or letter of support, rather than simply being defined as one. This strengthens the documentation requirement.

REQUIREMENT

A new exemption was added: the requirement to use standards-aligned curriculum during the instructional day does not extend to programming offered as part of an expanded learning opportunity program under Section 46120 of the Education Code.

02/12/25 - Introduced → 03/20/25 - Amended Senate · 6 edits · Mar 20, 2025

MODERATE

The Senate amendment to SB 341 makes several substantive changes to the Instructional School Gardens Program: it adds CAL FIRE and community-based organizations to the interagency working group, removes the California Integrated Waste Management Board, broadens the funding trigger to allow activation through private funds (not just state appropriations), and changes the reporting deadline from six months after final expenditure to the end of the school year. These changes make the program more flexible in how it can be funded and broaden stakeholder involvement.

SCOPE

The working group composition was changed: CAL FIRE (Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) and instructional school garden community-based organizations were added, while the California Integrated Waste Management Board was removed. The working group is now mandatory ('shall convene' and 'shall include') rather than optional ('may convene' and 'may include').

FISCAL

The funding contingency for the competitive grant process was expanded. Previously, operation was contingent solely on a legislative appropriation. Now it can also be triggered by receipt of sufficient private funds (including private grants or donations) as determined by the Department of Food and Agriculture.

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible non-LEA applicants were broadened from 'community-based organizations or other private individuals or entities' to 'community-based organizations or other private individuals or other entities partnering with at least one local educational agency, including, but not limited to, community-based organizations,' making clear that CBOs are just one example of eligible partners.

TIMELINE

The grant reporting deadline was changed from 'within six months of the final expenditure' to 'at the end of the school year in which grants are received,' giving recipients a different (potentially longer) window to submit reports.

DEFINITION

A new definition was added for 'CAL FIRE' meaning the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, reflecting its new role on the working group.

REQUIREMENT

The existing-resources obligation in Section 51796 was narrowed: previously it applied to the Superintendent and multiple agencies including the California Integrated Waste Management Board; now it applies only to the Department of Food and Agriculture, State Department of Education, State Department of Public Health, and CalRecycle.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

Apr 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 932.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on AGRI.

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on AGRI.

upper

Mar 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on AGRI. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 420.) (March 19).

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Committee

Referred to Coms. on ED. and AGRI.

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors