Harvesting Knowledge Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4022 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include indoor agricultural technology as an activity that supports well-rounded education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 12, 2023 Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Mr. BACON, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include indoor agricultural technology as an activity that supports well-rounded education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harvesting Knowledge 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4022.IH H4022 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4022 IH SEC. 2. STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT 1 GRANTS. 2 (a) PROGRAMMING AND ACTIVITIES.—Section 3 4107(a)(3)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7117(a)(3)(C)) is amend- 5 ed— 6 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 7 (2) in clause (vi), by adding ‘‘and’’ after the 8 semicolon; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(vii) providing hands-on learning and 11 exposure to hydroponic or aquaponic agri- 12 cultural systems by integrating experien- 13 tial, hands-on learning to enhance the stu- 14 dents’ understanding of the STEM sub- 15 jects as they relate to— 16 ‘‘(I) agriculture; 17 ‘‘(II) sustainability topics (in- 18 cluding climate change, water re- 19 source management, efficient land 20 use, biodiversity, conservation, and 21 sustainable development); and 22 ‘‘(III) biology-related topics (in- 23 cluding plant life cycles, functioning 24 of ecosystems, and adaptation);’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4022.IH H4022 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4022 IH (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 4102 of the Elementary 1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7112) 2 is amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(9) AEROPONIC TOWER SYSTEM.—The term 4 ‘aeroponic tower system’ means a hydroponic grow- 5 ing system in which plants are grown vertically in an 6 air-based environment where they receive regular 7 misting with water and dissolved nutrients on their 8 stems and roots during the production cycle. 9 ‘‘(10) AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY AND ENGI- 10 NEERING SYSTEM.—The term ‘agricultural tech- 11 nology and engineering system’ means a system that 12 includes at least one of the following: 13 ‘‘(A) Nutrient technique film system. 14 ‘‘(B) Vine crop system. 15 ‘‘(C) Aeroponic tower system. 16 ‘‘(D) Other systems as determined by the 17 Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of 18 Agriculture. 19 ‘‘(11) AQUAPONIC AGRICULTURE SYSTEM.—The 20 term ‘aquaponic agriculture system’ means a plant 21 production system in which the waste produced from 22 farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutri- 23 ents for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn 24 purifies the water. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4022.IH H4022 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4022 IH ‘‘(12) HYDROPONIC AGRICULTURE SYSTEM.— 1 The term ‘hydroponic agriculture system’ means a 2 plant production system in which plants are grown 3 in a soil-less environment where nutrients are pro- 4 vided by the application of nutrient solutions. 5 ‘‘(13) NUTRIENT TECHNIQUE FILM SYSTEM.— 6 The term ‘nutrient technique film system’ means a 7 hydroponic growing system in which a shallow 8 stream of water containing dissolved nutrients is re- 9 circulated past the bare roots of plants in channels 10 during the production cycle. 11 ‘‘(14) VINE CROP SYSTEM.—The term ‘vine 12 crop system’ means a hydroponic growing system in 13 which vine crops and other tall fruiting crops (in- 14 cluding tomatoes) are grown vertically to maximize 15 the growing space using recirculating water and dis- 16 solved nutrients.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4022.IH H4022 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS