(a) Any school district or county superintendents of schools desiring a grant under this article shall submit an application at the time, in the manner, and with the information that the office of the Governor may require. No funding shall be made available to any entity pursuant to this chapter unless all of the following conditions apply:

(1) The project facility and services are open to children without regard to any child’s religious beliefs or any other factor related to religion.

(2) No religious instruction is included in the project.

(3) The space in which the project is operated is not utilized in any manner to foster religion during the time used for the project.

(b) Each application shall include all of the following:

(1) A description of activities for which assistance is requested.

(2) A list of coapplicants, if any.

(3) The number of children expected to be served.

(4) A statement of goals of the program to be supported by the grant.

(5) A statement of the applicant’s experience in the recruitment, placement, and training of volunteers and mentors. School districts and county superintendents of schools may contract with nonprofit organizations, experienced in operating volunteer mentor projects, for program operations.

(6) A statement of how the applicant intends to recruit, screen, train, and place academic mentors.

(7) A statement of how the entity will ensure that (A) academic volunteers and mentors will be required to undergo the same criminal and health checks that school employees are subject to prior to employment, and (B) no displacement of existing school employees will occur as a result of the use of academic volunteers and mentors.

(8) A statement of the efforts the applicant will make to maximize the use of existing state, federal, and local funds from both public and private sources for the purposes of the project.

(9) A plan for integration of the applicant’s efforts with other community-based children’s services.

(c) Each recipient of grant funding under this chapter shall comply with the standards developed by the office of the Governor pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 96102.

(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 308, Sec. 27. Effective August 3, 1995.)