CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0987
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 987
By Representative Fischer
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community service education;
3 creating s. 233.615, F.S.; providing
4 legislative findings; authorizing school
5 districts to require 100 hours of community
6 service education as a condition for high
7 school graduation; providing exceptions;
8 providing components for high school community
9 service education programs; providing an
10 effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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14 Section 1. Section 233.615, Florida Statutes, is
15 created to read:
16 233.615 Mandatory high school community service
17 education.--
18 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.--The Legislature finds that:
19 (a) The public schools have a historic tradition of
20 teaching values to their students, including values associated
21 with community responsibilty, and play a crucial role in the
22 preparation of individuals for participation as citizens.
23 (b) Mandatory community service education programs
24 further the state's legitimate function of educating its
25 students by exposing students to the needs of their
26 communities, helping them to recognize their place and value
27 within their communities, and providing them opportunity to
28 evaluate potential careers.
29 (c) In educating its students, the state has an
30 interest in preparing them to participate effectively and
31 intelligently in society, and this extends to teaching them
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 987
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1 good citizenship and introducing them to their social
2 responsibilities as citizens.
3 (d) Mandatory community service education programs do
4 the following: expose students to the needs of their
5 communities and the various ways in which a system of
6 volunteerism can respond to those needs; help students develop
7 a connection between school and work; and focus on
8 learning-by-doing.
9 (2) MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE EDUCATION PROGRAMS
10 AUTHORIZED; PROGRAM COMPONENTS.--Each school district, by
11 majority vote of its school board members, may adopt a
12 mandatory community service education program that
13 establishes, as a condition for high school graduation, a
14 requirement that every public high school student entering the
15 ninth grade in the 1997-1998 school year and thereafter,
16 except for exceptional students as described in s. 232.247,
17 must complete a total of 100 hours of community service
18 education during the student's 4 years of high school. Each
19 mandatory community service education program must have the
20 following components:
21 (a) The mandatory community service education hours
22 may be performed after school, on weekends, or during the
23 summer. The school district shall let the student select the
24 required community service from among the following:
25 1. Community service to any nonprofit organization
26 provided through an agency approved by the school district.
27 2. Community service to any nonprofit organization
28 provided through an independent program selected by the school
29 district.
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1 3. Community service to any nonprofit organization
2 provided through an independent program selected by the
3 student and approved by the school.
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5 Required community service education hours may not include
6 community service to any nonprofit organization that is a
7 political or religious organization.
8 (b) Students may not receive pay for required
9 community service, nor may their services displace any
10 activities performed by paid employees of the nonprofit
11 organization. The nonprofit organization for which the
12 student works is responsible for on-the-job training and
13 supervision and must document the hours worked by the student
14 by a verified time sheet submitted to the school. Students
15 shall set their own work schedules, in consultation with the
16 nonprofit organization, and shall arrange for their own
17 transportation.
18 (c) The school shall monitor each student's mandatory
19 community service education progress and require benchmarks to
20 be met annually as a condition for promotion. The school
21 shall require all high school seniors to submit a paper
22 documenting and summarizing their community service education
23 hours and experiences. The school shall not permit a student
24 to receive a high school diploma if the student has failed to
25 comply with the school's mandatory community service education
26 program. Transfer students must be required to complete
27 prorated community service education hours or provide
28 verification of community service education hours from
29 comparable programs in their former schools.
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 987
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2 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Authorizes each school district to adopt a mandatory
4 community service education program which requires 100
hours of community service education for high school
5 graduation. Provides community service requirements.
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