Updates to the National FFA charter are under consideration. On Tuesday, the House passed under a suspension vote the National FFA Organization’s Federal Charter Amendments Act (HR. 439), which would tweak some language within the organization’s federal charter, but also enable it to be more self-governing. According to FFA’s website, the Department of Education has rejected potential members of FFA’s board of directors, and “both FFA and the Department have agreed the relationship as it stands is not working optimally and needs to be addressed via the FFA federal charter.” While the charter is opened, FFA is making a handful of other changes as well, including language “that confirms the integral nature of FFA in the agriculture education classroom.” The changes could also lead to an expanded National FFA Officer Team, growing from its current six-member size. Mark Poeschl, the organization’s CEO, says the changes “allow National FFA to self-govern while maintaining our long relationship with the U.S. Department of Education, and clearly define the important integral nature of agricultural education, FFA leadership development, and experiential learning for the first time.”
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
