(a) There is hereby created the Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning program to promote service to the communities of California in honor of the life and work of Cesar Chavez. The program shall be administered by the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, in collaboration with the California Conservation Corps.

(b) The Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism may make grants based on proposals selected through a competitive process from local and state operated Americorps, National Senior Service Corps, Learn and Serve, or Conservation Corps programs that submit proposals to engage pupils through their schools and school districts in community service that qualifies as instructional time on Cesar Chavez Day, pursuant to Section 37220.5, and that honors the life and work of Cesar Chavez. The programs shall be created and organized in consultation with community groups. The Americorps, National Senior Service Corps, Learn and Serve, or Conservation Corps programs may implement or administer the programs in collaboration with community groups and nonprofit organizations. The proposals shall demonstrate all of the following:

(1) The ways and extent to which the program will be a collaborative effort between schools and the Americorps, National Senior Service Corps, Learn and Serve, or Conservation Corps program.

(2) The ways that the service will be connected to instruction on the life and work of Cesar Chavez provided on Cesar Chavez Day.

(3) The way in which the service provided will make a meaningful contribution to the community.

(c) Grants made pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be in the amount of one dollar ($1) for each participating pupil, or two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each school, whichever is greater. The Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism may, at its discretion, adjust the grant amount to account for school district size, the size of the project, and the demand on existing funding. Under no circumstances may the amount granted exceed the amount of funding appropriated to carry out this section.

(d) In order for the community service performed under this program to be counted as instructional time, the service shall be performed under the supervision of a teacher, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 46300.

(e) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop or revise, as needed, a model curriculum on the life and work of Cesar Chavez and submit the model curriculum to the State Board of Education for adoption pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 37220.5. Upon adoption, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall distribute the model curriculum to each school.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section, or in the act that adds this section, shall be construed to impose a mandate on school districts.

(g) For the purposes of this section, “school district” includes school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1124, Sec. 4. Effective September 30, 2002.)