Rock Island Today

In an Aug. 15 Facebook post, Rep. Dan Swanson shared news about the pasage of a new law. House Bill 2814 allows students in 4-H and FFA to get excused absences for club functions.

"Illinois students can now be covered for missing class for programs like FFA and 4-H under a new law which allows schools to count work-based learning events as excused absences," Swanson said.

House Bill 3814 was filed by Rep. Sonya M. Harper on Feb. 17, 2023, and moved to the Senate on March 23. Senator Doris Turner was the Chief Sponsor in the Senate. The bill went to Gov. Pritzker for a signature, and it was approved on Aug. 14, 2023. It will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The bill requires that “in provisions concerning the daily pupil attendance calculation, provides that participation in a Supervised Career Development Experience or any work-based learning experience in which student participation and learning outcomes are directed by a licensed educator for assessment of competencies (instead of providing that participation in a Supervised Career Development Experience in which student participation and learning outcomes are supervised by a licensed educator) shall be counted toward the calculation of clock hours of school work per day.”

FarmWeekNow reports that as of June 20, 2023, “membership within the organization has grown from around 23,000 members to more than 41,000 this past year after the state awarded grant funding to cover membership costs for any student who is enrolled in an agriculture course."

An OurQuadCities report noted that “Illinois students who participate in FFA will also have their membership dues covered for a second year in a row. The organization grew from 23,000 members to more than 41,000 last year.”

According to the 4-H Extension service from the University of Illinois, there are 100,000 individual youths involved in 4-H, and that equates to 1 in 14 kids in the state. They quote Tufts University and a 10-year study that revealed members are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; they’re twice as likely to be civically active, and twice as likely to make healthier choices.

FarmWeekNow reports that as of June 20, 2023, “membership within the organization has grown from around 23,000 members to more than 41,000 this past year after the state awarded grant funding to cover membership costs for any student who is enrolled in an agriculture course."