H.R. 5255

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5255 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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).
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