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THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RECOMMENDS
That the Board amend Board Report 18-0822-PO4, the Volunteer Policy in response to Board Rule 2-6’s biennial policy review requirement. This policy was posted for public comment from June 28, 2024 until July 29, 2024.
PURPOSE
This policy shall: (1) ensure that prospective volunteers are properly vetted and approved annually; (2) ensure that volunteers do not pose undue risk to the health and safety of CPS students and (3) make clear that CPS Principals are responsible for ensuring that volunteers are properly vetted and approved in advance and that approved volunteers are properly supervised while serving as volunteers.
POLICY TEXT
I. Volunteer Categories
- Level I Volunteer. A Level I Volunteer is:
- A parent providing volunteer service in their child’s school or classroom for 10 or more hours/week;
- An individual providing volunteer service for 5 or more hours/week at a school where s/he does not have a child enrolled;
- Any individual chaperoning an overnight school-sponsored trip, regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves (See also the Student Travel Policy);
- Any individual serving in a coaching capacity, regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves;
- Any individual serving as a student teacher, pre-service teacher, pre-service clinician, or other pre-service practicum assignment regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves;
- Any individual serving as a One-on-One tutor or mentor, regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves and regardless of the setting, whether online or in-person;
- Any individual providing volunteer service with students when such service may occur in an unsupervised setting, regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves;
- Any individual providing volunteer service for a program where the program’s funding agency requires criminal record clearance, regardless of the hours/week that the volunteer serves; or
- Any individual providing services to a school through an organization that is not charging the school for such services, and who is not otherwise subject to a criminal background check requirement found in a Board contract with said organization, except as specified in section I.B.3 below.
- Level II Volunteer. A Level II Volunteer is:
- A parent providing supervised volunteer service in their child’s school or classroom for less than 10 hours/week;
- Any individual providing volunteer service for less than 5 hours/week at a school where s/he does not have a child enrolled;
- An individual providing one-day volunteer service with no ongoing individualized interaction with a student(s) including those who speak at a class/assembly, judge academic competitions, give musical performance, participate in the “Principal for a Day” program, job-shadowing event, corporate philanthropic event, organized community service event or other one-time event provided there is direct supervision of the activity/event by regular school employees;
- A parent accompanying his/her child’s class on a one-day field trip or another type of extra-curricular activity that does not involve an overnight stay; or
- An individual providing volunteer service on projects/activities involving no or nominal contact with children (home-based volunteer activities, volunteers serving at Central or Network office).
II. Principal Responsibilities
- For Level I and II Volunteers: The principal shall be responsible for all volunteers associated with their school, including those providing services outside of regular school hours.
- The principal is responsible for reviewing volunteer application forms from eligible prospective volunteers, completing an interview, as necessary, with the prospective volunteer or his/her sponsoring corporation or other organization and determining whether to recommend the individual for volunteer service to FACE2. Decisions about recommending volunteers shall be made based on the needs and best interests of the school as determined by the principal. Each year, before any volunteer is permitted to provide services, the principal must require the volunteer candidate, including volunteers providing services under the sponsorship of a corporation or other organization, to complete an application through FACE2 and must not permit the prospective volunteer to perform any services until FACE2 has approved the prospective volunteer for service.
- Before allowing volunteers to perform services, Principals shall develop a schedule for every volunteer and, when services are performed, require all volunteers to record their start and end time each day of service.
- Principals must ensure that all volunteers are properly supervised and, with respect to Level II volunteers, are in line of sight of their supervisor.
- Principals have an ongoing responsibility to monitor the volunteers' activities once they’ve been approved and to ensure they are performing duties consistent with their Level I or Level II status.
- If a principal would like an approved Level II volunteer to perform Level I volunteer services, the principal must first re-submit the volunteer to FACE2 to complete the Level I registration process. The principal shall ensure the volunteer does not provide Level I services until such time as the individual receives approved Level I status from FACE2.
- Until such time as the Office of Safety and Security establishes a volunteer photo ID program, the principal shall establish a process to visibly identify individuals who are approved school volunteers (e.g. sticker badge). The principal shall ensure the volunteer wears the identification during the course of their volunteer service.
- The Principal shall ensure that their approved volunteers complete the mandatory training requirements established by the Chief Executive Officer or designee. No individual shall be permitted to volunteer as a Level I or Level II volunteer for any CPS school or program until they have completed the mandatory training requirements, except that any hours spent completing mandatory training requirements may be counted toward the volunteer’s hours for any program or partnership that connects CPS schools and volunteers.
- For Level II Volunteers: The principal must ensure that all Level II Volunteers are supervised by a responsible full-time school employee(s) who has the volunteer in his/her line of sight at all times and do not exceed the maximum number of hours or perform services above and beyond that of a Level II volunteer.
- Limits on Delegation: The principal may delegate the principal responsibilities identified in this policy only to a responsible Assistant Principal or licensed teacher and only if the principal establishes accountability measures to ensure the requirements of this policy are satisfied with fidelity.
III. Office of Family and Community Engagement in Education (FACE2) Responsibilities:
- For every volunteer application that is received, FACE2 must:
- Confirm with the principal the type and nature of services the prospective volunteer will perform and the number of hours the volunteer will be providing said services to the school, including those hours and services performed outside of regular school hours;
- Request that the Office of Safety and Security perform a search to determine whether the volunteer applicant appears in any of the following Registries:
- Nationwide Sex Offender Registry
- Illinois Sex Offender Registry
- Illinois Violent Offender and Murderer Against Youth Registry; and
- Request that the Office of Safety and Security perform a search to determine whether the volunteer applicant has been designated as ineligible for CPS re-hire (“DNH”).
- For Level I Volunteer applicants, FACE2 must:
- Inform the prospective volunteer that they must submit to a fingerprint-based background check through the Office of Safety and Security, which includes a criminal history check, a CPS employment history check, and check on finding of child abuse and neglect from the Department of Children and Family Services;
- Inform the principal and prospective volunteer in writing whether the prospective volunteer has cleared the requisite checks and mandatory training and is approved to volunteer; and
- Specify the services the volunteer is approved to perform and the number of hours the volunteer is approved to perform said services.
- Ensure that each volunteer is entered into the Board’s mandatory training system, and assign all mandatory trainings to each volunteer. In the event that FACE2 becomes aware of any volunteer that has not met these requirements, the volunteer will be immediately barred from working in a school until the training has been completed.
- For Level II Volunteer applicants, FACE2 must:
- Inform the principal and volunteer candidate in writing whether the prospective volunteer has cleared the requisite checks and training requirements and is approved to volunteer; and
- Specify the services the volunteer is approved to perform and the number of hours the volunteer is approved to perform said services.
IV. Volunteer Application
Prospective volunteers must register with FACE2 by completing the required CPS volunteer application forms and satisfying the requirements of the applicant review process each year. Registration is valid for one year only. All volunteers must disclose whether they have been convicted of any criminal offense enumerated in 105 ILCS 5/34-18.5(c). Misrepresentation on any of the application forms or during the review process may result in immediate disqualification of a prospective volunteer.
An individual shall be deemed ineligible to volunteer if s/he has been:
- convicted of any criminal offense enumerated in 105 ILCS 5/34-18.5(c) of the Illinois School Code (“Enumerated Offense”);
- convicted of an offense that requires him/her to appear on a sex offender registry in any jurisdiction; or
- designated as ineligible for rehire by CPS.
An individual with an indicated finding from the Department of Children and Family Services or with a criminal offense that does not per se exclude them from volunteer service may be deemed ineligible to volunteer as determined by the Chief Executive Officer or designee.
V. Criminal Background Check
As part of the review process, the prospective volunteer shall comply with the following criminal background check requirements:
- A fingerprint criminal background check is required for all Level I Volunteers.
- A fingerprint criminal background check is not required for Level II Volunteers, however a principal may require a Level II Volunteer to submit to a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
To the extent any other Board rule, policy, contract or grant obligation requires an individual to submit to a criminal background check, this policy shall not be construed to limit or nullify such other requirement. Nothing herein prohibits the Chief Executive Officer or designee from requiring a criminal background check as needed to verify an individual’s qualifications to serve as a volunteer or to require a volunteer to complete an additional criminal background check. Nothing herein prohibits the Chief Executive Officer or designee from establishing a modified volunteer application and review process for any district-wide initiative that requires volunteer support.
VI. Guidelines
The Chief Executive Officer or designee shall issue guidelines for the effective implementation of this policy including forms, timelines and protocols for volunteer applications, applicant review and completion of background checks. The guidelines may also include: (i) requirements for continuous volunteers to submit updated application forms or submit to a new background check, (ii) requirements for mandatory volunteer training, (iii) standards or restrictions regarding volunteer age or experience, (iv) standards and procedures for the revocation of a volunteer’s approved status, (v) any volunteer health exam(s) requirements, and (vi) any other requirements necessary to ensure the proper oversight of CPS volunteers.
Policy References
Amends/Rescinds | Amend 18-0822-PO4; Rescinds 14-0326-PO1 |
Cross References | 06-0927-PO2; 02-1218-PO02; 01-0822-PO4; 99-0728-PO4; 99-0421-PO5; 96-0327-PO6; 92-1125-RS4; 67-730-13 |
Public Comment |
Pursuant to Board Rule 2-6 this Policy was posted for Public Comment from 6/28/24 - 7/29/24. |