§ 115C-207.  Authority and responsibility of local boards of education.

Every local board of education that uses State funds to implement programs under this Article shall:

(1) Develop programs and plans for increased community involvement in the public schools based upon policies and guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education.

(1a) Develop policies and programs designed to encourage the use of community-based academic booster organizations, which may be known as Community Achievement Network - Developing Our Educational Resources (CAN DOER) organizations, to provide tutoring and other appropriate services to encourage and support student academic achievement.

(1b) Develop policies and/or procedures for approving the use of volunteer organizations and for approving the use of individual volunteers.

(1c) Develop policies and/or procedures designed to make information available to parents and students about what tutoring and other academic support services are available to students in the community or through school volunteers or other community organizations.

(2) Develop programs and plans for increased community use of public school facilities based upon policies and guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education

(3) Establish rules governing the implementation of such programs and plans in its public schools and submit these rules along with adopted programs and plans to the State Board of Education for approval by the State Board of Education.

(4) Give priority in the use of school facilities to any youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society, such as the Boy Scouts of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils, and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and its affiliated North Carolina groups and councils, in order to encourage schools to facilitate access for students to participate in activities provided by these groups at times other than instructional time during the school day for the purposes of encouraging civic education. If the local board of education denies priority access to a patriotic society listed in Title 36 of the United States Code, the local board shall provide reasons for the denial in writing to the requesting entity.

Programs and plans developed by a local board of education may provide for the establishment of one or more community schools advisory councils for the public schools under the board's jurisdiction and for the employment of one or more community schools coordinators. The local board of education shall establish the terms and conditions of employment for the community schools coordinators.

Every local board of education using State funds to implement a community schools program under this Article may enter into agreements with other local boards of education, agencies and institutions for the joint development of plans and programs and the joint expenditure of these State funds. (1977, c. 682; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1995, c. 450, s. 9; 2009-453, s. 1; 2015-249, s. 2.)