IRVINE : Students Won’t Be Required to Serve

High school students will not be required to perform free community service in order to graduate, the Irvine Unified School District Board of Education decided this week.

Earlier this year, board member Mary Ellen Hadley said the district should consider requiring students to work for a social service agency or other community organization. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to encourage students to volunteer in the community but not to require it.

Several school districts began considering mandatory community service after the Laguna Beach Unified School District board voted last September to make community service a graduation requirement. High school students in Laguna Beach now must perform 10 hours of work each year.

So far, no other Orange County school district has made community service a requirement to graduate.

The Irvine school board voted to award a certificate and special recognition to students who perform 25 hours of community service. Students who complete the 25 hours in a given year will receive a certificate and a mention of the work on their transcript.

“I’m very excited this is something we’re willing to undertake,” Hadley said.

The district will help students volunteer by keeping a list of social service organizations that have asked the district for student helpers, said Dean Waldfogel, assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum.