Parents, students urge San Marcos Unified to retain AgBio pathway after board approves horticulture dual‑enrollment
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Summary
At public comment and during consent‑agenda debate Feb. 12, dozens of parents and students urged the board to keep AgBio/AgChem as gateways to FFA after staff proposed replacing freshman AgBio with a college‑level horticulture dual‑enrollment course; trustees approved the consent agenda but asked staff to return with options to preserve access for students who cannot take college courses.
SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Dozens of parents, students and community members urged the San Marcos Unified School District board on Feb. 12 to retain non‑college‑level agriculture courses after staff proposed adopting a horticulture course offered for dual enrollment with MiraCosta College.
Multiple speakers described AgBio and Floral Design as the primary gateway to the district's FFA program and said replacing AgBio/AgChem with a college‑level horticulture course for freshmen would exclude many students from FFA projects, including raising livestock and participating in fair competitions.
"If he doesn't take the college level horticulture class next year, he won't be able to be in FFA," said a parent who spoke for families concerned about their eighth graders' transition to high school agriculture programs.
Staff response and board discussion: Curriculum staff explained the horticulture option is a revised course that will satisfy dual‑enrollment requirements with MiraCosta and provide students with college credit. The staff member also explained the change involves CALPADS/course‑coding technicalities that make keeping two identically named AgBio courses difficult. "AgBio meets the requirements. However, we have updated AgBio in UC Doorways so that it is now ... horticulture," staff stated during the discussion.
Board members acknowledged the program's value and expressed concern about access for students who are not prepared for college‑level work. Trustees asked staff to return with options for ensuring students who cannot take a college‑level course can still access the agricultural pathway and science credit. Despite public concern, the board approved the consent agenda that included the course changes; trustees said they will continue to engage stakeholders and may revisit the matter.
Why it matters: FFA and CTE (career technical education) pathways are central to hands‑on career and leadership development for many San Marcos students. Parents warned that removing accessible entry points could shrink participation and undercut a longstanding community program that supports student leadership and workforce skills.
What’s next: Staff said memoranda of understanding with MiraCosta and final course coding details are still being finalized; trustees requested follow‑up on how students who decline or cannot pass dual‑enrollment coursework will access the pathway and science credit.
Key quoted lines in the meeting came from several public commenters and district staff; the board did not change course wording or policy on Feb. 12 but approved the consent agenda and committed to further conversation.