SB 282

This bill requires the Department of Public Instruction to create a community

school start-up grant program, under which DPI awards competitive grants to

school boards to plan and implement community schools. The bill defines a

“community school” as a public school that focuses on improving student learning,

strengthening families, developing healthier communities, working with

community partners to provide additional services to the surrounding community,

and providing wrap-around support services to pupils and their families but does not

include independent charter schools or charter schools that are not an

instrumentality of a school district.

The bill requires that under the community school start-up grant program DPI

must allocate portions of the program funding to establishing community schools in

rural school districts, to establishing community schools in high-poverty school

districts, and to transforming low-performing schools into community schools. The

bill also requires an applicant for a community school start-up grant to demonstrate

that it has secured matching funds for the grant and to identify a school resource

coordinator who will coordinate school programming. An applicant for a community

school start-up grant must also describe the types of programming the school will

provide to improve student learning, strengthen families, and develop a healthier

community. A community school start-up grant is for five years and may be renewed

for additional five-year terms.

Finally, the bill requires a recipient of a community school start-up grant to

provide an annual report to DPI.