Community service hours are NOT required for high school graduation. There are many scholarships students can apply for in their senior year that DO have community service hours as part of the eligibility criteria, so students should be aware of that. Bright Futures DOES require community service hours. Students/parents can search for specific BF scholarship criteria at www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org Earning community service hours is encouraged (scholarship opportunities look great on a resume, etc.).

Community Service forms must be completed by the student (requires parent signature) and submitted to Guidance if the student wants hours documented and entered into Focus.

A separate form must be completed for each activity (e.g. Working at a homeless shelter, tutoring students, working for Habitat for Humanity….all must be reported separately because they are different types of activities by different organizations)

There are five major exclusions for reporting hours. Students should always check with Guidance before they volunteer to be sure the hours they are working can be reported if they would like the hours recorded at school)

• Cannot report hours if the student receives any type of monetary compensation
• Cannot report hours if the student worked for family members
• Cannot report hours if the student did “community service” related to a court stipulation
• Cannot report hours if the activity was something they earned a grade for in a class
• Cannot report hours if they are related to promoting a specific religion

 The Process:

• Student completes the form and returns to Guidance (form MUST be completed in its entirety or it will be returned to the student).
• Guidance reviews and verifies information/hours
• Hours are entered into the system for the student