Public Act 094-0904
 
HB4832 Enrolled LRB094 17562 NHT 52858 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Community Service Education Act.
 
    Section 5. Policy. Community service education programs
educate students about the value of civic involvement through
actual school-sponsored involvement in their communities.
Students, citizens, civic groups, businesses, and community
organizations benefit from community service education
programs by developing strong partnerships that enhance the
value of schools and quality of life in communities. Community
service education programs build stronger schools, stronger
communities, and a positive environment.
    In many communities, the school district is the economic
engine that provides jobs, economic stability, and prosperity.
Community service education programs enable more school
districts and communities to prosper economically while
promoting good citizenship. School districts that offer
community service education programs enjoy a significant
return on their investment. Hence, the policy of the State of
Illinois is to support such programs by providing incentives to
encourage school districts to offer community service
education programs.
 
    Section 10. Community Service Education Program. There is
created the Community Service Education Program, administered
by the State Board of Education, in cooperation with school
districts. Participation in this program is voluntary. The
following items may serve as best practices to be considered by
school districts opting to implement the program under Section
25 of this Act:
        (1) The program contains provisions and standards
    conducive to the establishment of community, business, and
    education partnerships that give use to lasting
    relationships between school districts and partners that
    are mutually beneficial.
        (2) The program provides greater community access to
    school facilities and programs to promote increased
    achievement by children.
        (3) The program makes school facilities available for
    citizen use.
        (4) The program organizes local residents to assess
    local conditions, set priorities, identify program needs,
    and participate in program planning and development.
        (5) The program identifies and utilizes resources
    within the community or those that impact on the community.
        (6) The program assists in the initiation of new and
    improved programs in an effort to improve opportunities for
    all residents of the community.
        (7) The program provides effective youth training
    programs and employment counseling in schools, as well as
    paid work experience linking the schools with the private
    sector.
        (8) The program provides student involvement in
    community service learning activities, organizations, and
    intergenerational programs.
        (9) The program provides volunteer programs to bring
    parents, business personnel, community agency
    representatives, retirees, and other students into the
    classroom as participants in the teaching of students.
        (10) The program provides supplemental or additional
    programs for junior high school and high school age youth
    that may consist of enrichment, individual, and
    supplemental activities, as well as recreational,
    cultural, and vocational programs.
        (11) The program provides programs to meet the
    individual needs of all people who reside in the school
    district being served.
Nothing set forth in items (7) through (11) shall be
constituted as either requiring or permitting the Community
Service Education Program to have any program or programs
serving the same purpose or purposes as those elsewhere
specifically provided for in the School Code.
    The Community Service Education Program shall avoid
duplication of existing programs operated by other entities in
whole or in part within a school district. The Community
Service Education Program shall provide for the involvement of
the residents of a school district in ascertaining the identity
of local problems and in ascertaining the community resources
available for dealing with these problems.
 
    Section 25. Establishment of community service education
program by school district. A school district may establish
and operate a community service education program that
qualifies for a grant under Section 92 of this Act by complying
with the provisions of this Act and any rules adopted by the
State Board of Education under Section 500 of this Act.
 
    Section 60. Local input. Each school board that establishes
a community service education program under Section 25 of this
Act shall establish a process to obtain input into the
development and operation of its community service education
program by members who represent various service
organizations, churches, public schools, units of local
government, businesses and professions, public and private
agencies serving youth, families, or senior citizens,
municipal governments, townships, libraries, park, recreation,
or forest preserve districts located in whole or in part within
the school district, and any other group or groups
participating in the school district's community service
education program.
 
    Section 65. Director of Community Service Education. Each
school district maintaining a community service education
program established under Section 25 of this Act shall employ
or appoint a Director of Community Service Education. The
Director shall be responsible for all aspects of the school
district's community service education program. An individual
employed solely as a Director of Community Service Education
need not hold a teaching or administrative certificate from the
State of Illinois.
 
    Section 75. Non-duplication of programs. A school district
that establishes a community service education program under
Section 25 of this Act must strive to ensure that its community
service education program does not duplicate services offered
by other entities or school programs.
 
    Section 80. Community service education consortiums. Any
school district that opts to conduct a community service
education program pursuant to the provisions of this Act may
enter into an agreement with other school districts to form a
consortium for the purpose of offering a consolidated community
service education program.
 
    Section 85. Partnership agreements. A school district
community service education program established under Section
25 of this Act shall have the power to enter into agreements
with any other public or private entity or entities for the
furnishing of any component of its community service education
program. These agreements may provide for payments from the
school district's community service education fund to other
entities as contributions to the expenses of the program or
programs covered by these agreements.
 
    Section 90. Funding. A school district maintaining a
community service education program established under Section
25 of this Act is authorized to receive money from the State,
as grants that are subject to appropriation, and other public
and private sources for the support of its program or any
component thereof and to expend this money pursuant to the
provisions of this Act, subject to the terms and conditions
under which the money is received. A not-for-profit
organization may be established in support of the program, in
accordance with the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of
1986, and may seek tax exemption for the organization from the
Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Revenue. Subject
to guidelines approved by the school board, the school district
is also authorized to charge and collect fees from persons
voluntarily participating in a specific community service
education program. The school board shall also have the
authority to designate funds to be used for community service
education purposes.
 
    Section 92. Grants. Subject to the availability of funds
for the specific purpose of making grants for community service
education, the State Board of Education is authorized to make
grants to school districts operating community service
education programs that meet the standards set forth in this
Act and any rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
 
    Section 500. Rules. The State Board of Education may adopt
any rules that are necessary to implement and administer this
Act.
 
    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 6/22/2006