1.004 School Volunteers
Cooperative Educational Services (C.E.S.) recognizes that volunteers can make many valuable contributions to our schools/programs. The Representative Council endorses a program encouraging parents/guardians and community members to take an active role in improving our schools/programs and to become volunteers in the schools, subject to suitable regulations and safeguards.
The Council encourages the use of volunteers to:
Increase the students’ educational achievement,
Provide enrichment experiences for students,
Increase the effective utilization of staff time and skills,
Give more individual attention to students, and
Promote greater community involvement in the education of C.E.S. students.
The Executive Director shall establish procedures for securing and screening school and community volunteers. These procedures shall include the requirement that all approved volunteers shall be under the supervision of a certified staff member when volunteering in C.E.S. schools/programs. All volunteers shall be subject to and abide by Council policy while serving in that capacity. Volunteers shall not discipline or otherwise punish students; all student behavior issues shall be brought to the attention of a staff member for action. All school and community volunteers providing services directly to students are required to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check. This includes parent chaperones on class trips. C.E.S. will assume the cost for parent and community volunteer fingerprinting and background checks.
Annually, Principals and/or Program Administrators shall submit to the Executive Director a list of all regular volunteers serving in their school/program.
Persons Prohibited from Serving as Volunteers
Any person, who is required to register as a “sex offender” under sections 54-251 through 54-254, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statues, or the statutes and laws of any other state or jurisdiction, shall not be allowed to serve as a volunteer in any C.E.S. school or program in any capacity. Additionally, any person who is a convicted felon shall not be allowed to volunteer in the schools/programs.
A person may be prohibited from service as a volunteer when the Principal or Program Administrator determines that such action would be in the best interest of the students
and/or the school. Principals/Program Administrators shall inform the Executive Director when any person is prohibited from serving as a volunteer, including those situations in which a previously authorized volunteer is no longer allowed to serve.
Legal References:
Connecticut General Statutes:
10-4g. Parental and community involvement in schools; model program; school-based teams.
10-28b. School volunteers; information and assistance about; state-wide coordinator; state plan.
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.
Title 42, United States Code, Chapter 139 – Volunteer Protection Act of 1997
Title 42, United States Code, Section 14071 – Jacob Wetterling Crimes
Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program
Adopted by the C.E.S. Representative Council on November 7, 2013