1212 1212Community Relations
School Volunteers
Volunteers can provide for expanded collaboration between the school and community, enhance the school's educational environment and ultimately enrich students' school experience.
The Board of Education recognizes that volunteers can make many valuable contributions to our schools. The Board endorses a program encouraging community members to take an active role in improving schools and to become school volunteers in schools subject to suitable regulations and safeguards. Appropriate recognition of volunteer services shall be made by the Board and school district administration.
Volunteers working within the schools must work under the supervision of District staff, and are held to the same standards of conduct as school staff. Volunteers must observe all Board of Education policies, including applicable policies on the confidentiality of student information.
The Board of Education encourages the use of volunteers to: (1) increase students' educational attainment, (2) provide enrichment experiences for students, (3) increase the effective utilization of staff time and skills, (4) give more individual attention to students, and (5) promote greater community involvement.
The Superintendent shall establish procedures for securing and screening resource persons and volunteers. No person who is a "sex offender," as defined by Public Act 98-111, An Act Concerning the Registration of Sexual Offenders shall be used.
Volunteers are required to submit to state and federal criminal record checks and a record check of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Child Abuse and Neglect Registry. No person required to register as a sex offender under state or federal law or whose name is listed on the DCF registry, may volunteer in any District school.
Annually, Principals shall submit a list of all regular volunteers in the district (chaperones on field trips, aides, library and classroom volunteer assistance, grandparents, assistance at athletic events, field days, etc.) to the Superintendent of Schools.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
10-4g Parent and community involvement in schools; model programs; school-based teams
10-220 Duties of boards of education
10-235 Indemnification of teachers, board members, employees and certain volunteers and students in damage suits; expenses of litigation.
54-250 Definitions
54-251 Registration of person who has committed a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor or a non-violent sexual offense.
54-252 Registration of a person who has committed a sexually violent offense.
54-253 Registration of a person who has committed a sexual offense in another jurisdiction
54-254 Registration of person who has committed a felony for a sexual purpose
Policy adopted:
1212
Community Relations
School Volunteers
Securing and Screening Volunteers
The Building Principal or their designee directs the use of volunteers within the school. Specifically, the Principal or designee directs volunteer recruitment, screening, placement, and training within the following perimeters:
1. Qualifications. Volunteers are welcomed from all backgrounds and all age groups. The main qualification for volunteer is that they have a desire to give their time and talent in order to enrich student learning opportunities and the school community generally.
2. Persons Not Allowed to Serve as Volunteers. No person who is a "registered sex offender," or is on the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Child Abuse and Neglect Registry may serve as a volunteer. Every time a new notification/online posting of registered sex offenders is received, the Building Principal or his/her designee shall review it for any person's name who has submitted a volunteer information form during that school year. Whenever someone submits a new volunteer information form, the Building Principal or designee shall review the sex offender list and DCF Child Abuse and Neglect Registry. The Building Principal may request a volunteer submit to a criminal background investigation if the individual will be working over a long period of time in direct contact with students where no staff member is continuously present or in other situations where a check would be prudent.
3. Recruitment. School personnel may recruit volunteers through the following resources: parent(s)/guardians, parent organizations, retired teachers and other senior citizen groups, community businesses, local volunteer centers, and universities. If a staff member, other than the Principal, recruits a volunteer, the staff member must provide the volunteer's name and address to the Principal.
4. Role. Volunteers serve only in an auxiliary capacity under the direction and supervision of a staff member; they are not a substitute for a member of the school staff. Volunteers do not have access to confidential student school records.
5. Selection, Placement, and Supervision. Volunteer selection and placement shall be on the basis of the volunteer's qualifications and availability and the school's needs. A volunteer will be assigned to a staff member only with the staff member's consent. The relationship between a volunteer and staff member should be one of mutual respect and confidence.
6. In our continued effort to maintain a safe learning environment, all school visitors, including volunteers, must report to the office upon arrival and before departing. A sign-in/sign-out log will be maintained in each school office. Volunteers should record both arrival and departure times and indicate the purpose of their visit. Additionally, volunteers will be provided with identification badges which should be displayed during each visit.
7. All volunteers are expected to exhibit standards of conduct equal to those of the school staff and to observe all Board of Education policies. This includes, but is not limited to: use of appropriate language, maintaining confidentiality, wearing appropriate attire, and exercising good judgment.
8. The building Principal is responsible for conveying the contents of this regulation to all school volunteers.
9. Screenings. Screening volunteers is critical because of the vulnerability of the population the school district serves. After the completion of Form 1212, which requires a valid state issued ID (driver's license, identification card, work visa or green card) and an initial check of the sex offender list, the volunteer is required to register in the school's main office at the beginning of each visit and wear a name tag while in the building. The volunteer's name will be checked against the sex offender list every time the person enters the building as a volunteer. Upon leaving the building, the volunteer must sign out. Unless he or she has already done so during the current academic year, the volunteer must complete an information form and waiver. Absent an indication on the form that the volunteer may not qualify, e.g. the volunteer is a convicted felon, the volunteer may proceed to the assigned activity.
(A criminal background check on volunteers is not required by law. If the Board policy prohibits any convicted felon from being a school volunteer, these administrative procedures should do likewise.)
A request to volunteer or to continue volunteering will be denied if the volunteer behaves in any manner that demonstrates he or she is not a good role model or is otherwise detrimental to the school environment. Examples of such behavior include: swearing, failing to be dependable, failing to follow the supervisor's instructions, committing any criminal act on school grounds or at a school activity, touching a student in a rude or overly forceful manner, failing to dress in an appropriate manner, or violating any school rule.
10. Training. Each academic year, when a person first completes the volunteer registration form, the Principal or designee should give the person a copy of this administrative procedure along with other pertinent information. The staff member to whom the volunteer is assigned is responsible for explaining his or her expectations of the volunteer. The Principal or designee should arrange appropriate training opportunities for those volunteer activities requiring a skill or knowledge base, e.g., working in the computer lab.
Regulation approved: