Illinois § 10

§ 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. (Source: P.A. 94-904, eff. 6-22-06.)