Committee reports bill to excuse student absences for FFA, 4‑H and approved agricultural events

The House Education and Workforce Committee voted to report House Bill 46‑65 with recommendation after hearing testimony and adopting a substitute amendment that defers to local district attendance policies.

Sponsored by Representative Whitwer, the bill would amend the Revised School Code to permit a governing body of a public school to excuse a student's absence if the student is attending a scheduled competition, exhibition or event offered by the National FFA Organization, the Michigan FFA Association, a 4‑H club, or another agricultural organization approved by the local school board. The sponsor said the student must be in good academic standing and emphasized local control in the substitute language: "the language would instead read that the student can't exceed the number of excused absences allowed by the student's school district," he said, noting the change was intended to avoid unintended consequences for districts that already allow more excused absences.

Sponsor testimony described Michigan's agricultural education participation and labor context: "Currently, Michigan is home to 8,800 FFA members in 124 chapters across the state," the sponsor said, citing recent membership growth and noting the state's agricultural sector contributes more than $100 billion annually to the economy. The bill's proponents included Doug Pennington, an FFA advisor at Olivet Community Schools, and Samantha Stankey from the Michigan FFA state staff, who described leadership and career education opportunities FFA provides.

Opposition and concerns were noted in submitted cards read into the record, including statements from the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals and from the Michigan Department of Education. After testimony the committee took a motion from Vice Chair Linting to report the bill with recommendation. The clerk called the roll and the committee recorded eight yeas and no nays; the motion prevailed and the bill was reported with recommendation for further consideration by the House.