                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(EXPIRES JULY 1, 2027) COMMUNITY BUILDERS PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED; REPORT (§
22.1-211.1)

A. The Community Builders Pilot Program (the Program) is established for the
purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and
increasing community engagement among public school students by providing
students enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public
Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and
during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development,
postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and
development.

B. The Program shall have after-school sessions, to be offered during the school
year after regular school hours, and one summer session, to be offered during
the summer months when school is not in session. The Program shall provide a
group of up to 100 students each session, selected in accordance with
subdivision C 1, community, workforce, and education building opportunities,
including opportunities for:

   1. Workforce development and professional readiness, including career and
   technical education exploration and opportunities for soft-skill development;

   2. Exploring opportunities available in postsecondary education;

   3. Social-emotional development and instruction on the role and importance of
   restorative justice in the community; and

   4. Family engagement and empowerment.

C. The school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public
Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program. In
administering the Program, the school boards may collaborate with such other
entities as they deem appropriate. In administering the Program, the school
boards shall:

   1. Establish and administer an application and referral process by which
   students who are entering eighth grade can apply or be referred for
   participation in the Program, including students who may be referred by a
   teacher for compulsory participation;

   2. Develop and administer an application and hiring process for Program staff,
   including a Program coordinator and professional staff;

   3. Develop and implement a Program curriculum and itinerary for the
   after-school sessions of the Program to be offered during the school year
   after regular school hours and for the summer session of the Program to be
   offered during the summer months; and

   4. Collect data and report to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Education
   and Health, and the House Committee on Education by November 1 each year on
   the progress of the Program, including: (i) the number of students
   participating in the Program as a whole and disaggregated by (a) the number of
   students participating during the after-school session of the Program and the
   summer session of the Program and (b) the number of participating students who
   are enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and the number of participating
   students enrolled in Petersburg City Public Schools; (ii) data relating to the
   progress of participating students, including a comparison of
   pre-participation and post-participation absenteeism rates, disciplinary
   incidents, and academic performance; and (iii) the number and rate of reported
   incidents of gun violence involving participants in the Program, in the City
   of Roanoke as a whole, and in the City of Petersburg as a whole in comparison
   to previous years.

HISTORY: 2024, cc. 299, 357.