H.R. 5255

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 5255 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5255 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants for the development and maintenance of school and community gardens, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 10, 2025 Ms. Brown (for herself, Mr. Carey, and Ms. Plaskett) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants for the development and maintenance of school and community gardens, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Thriving Community Gardens Act''. SEC. 2. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT SAFE AND HEALTHY STUDENTS. Clause (ii) of section 4108(5)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7118(5)(C)) is amended to read as follows: ``(ii) support a healthy, active lifestyle, including-- ``(I) nutritional education and regular, structured physical education activities and programs, that may address chronic disease management with instruction led by school nurses, nurse practitioners, or other appropriate specialists or professionals to help maintain the well-being of students; and ``(II) the development and maintenance of school or community gardens;''. SEC. 3. INFORMATION COLLECTION AND BEST PRACTICES. (a) Information Collection.--The Secretary of Education shall regularly collect information from local educational agencies that use funds provided under section 4108 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7118), as amended by this Act, to develop and maintain community gardens (as authorized under paragraph (5)(C)(ii)(II) of such section). (b) Identification of Best Practices.--Based on the information collected from local educational agencies under subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall identify best practices for the development and maintenance of community gardens as described in such subsection. (c) Publication and Updates.--The Secretary of Education shall-- (1) publish the best practices identified under subsection (b) on a publicly accessible website of the Department of Education; and (2) regularly update the best practices based on information received from local educational agencies under subsection (a). <all>