(a) The Instructional School Gardens Program is hereby established for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional school gardens through the allocation of grants, and through technical assistance provided, to school districts, charter schools, or county offices of education. The program shall be administered by the State Department of Education.

(b) The Superintendent shall convene an interagency working group on instructional school gardens that shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the State Department of Education, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of Public Health, and the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The working group shall advise the Superintendent on all of the following:

(1) Effective and efficient means of encouraging school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to develop and maintain a quality instructional school garden program.

(2) The availability of state and nonstate resources and technical assistance to help school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in establishing and maintaining instructional school gardens.

(3) Public and private partnerships available to assist school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in using instructional school gardens to complement the academic program of participating schools.

(c) The Superintendent may establish an advisory group involving other agencies and groups with expertise in instructional school gardens, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Education Interagency Network. The purpose of the advisory group is to support program efforts through technical assistance, resources, in-kind support, site visits, and other related efforts.

(d) (1) The Superintendent shall use existing resources to comply with subdivisions (b) and (c).

(2) The Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Department of Public Health, and the California Integrated Waste Management Board shall use existing resources to comply with subdivision (b).

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 483, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2008.)