The following questions and answers concerning Tutoring and Mentoring Leave (part of the Community Service Leave policy) have been developed to assist State employees who are subject to G.S. 126 that are interested in volunteering for community service.

Q.  Are employees limited to one hour per week or may they start out with a balance of 36 hours each year and charge all leave used for the purpose of mentoring/tutoring to this leave until the allotted hours have been exhausted?

A.  The total amount of tutoring/mentoring leave an employee can earn is based on the number of weeks the school is in session as documented by the school calendar that is approved by the local school board.  Therefore, the amount of leave that can be credited to an employee may vary depending on the school calendar and the mentoring agreement that is approved by the employee's agency and the school.  Once the mentoring agreement is completed, the employee can use one hour per week not to exceed a total of 36 hours per school year.

A.  No.  The policy states that the leave is to be used exclusively for tutoring or mentoring a student. The tutoring/mentoring policy was developed to meet the needs of the guidelines that are in place for formal tutoring/mentoring services provided to N.C. Schools through the Communities in Schools mentoring program.  The intent is for volunteers to make a commitment to spend one hour each week tutoring/mentoring a child for an entire school year.

A. No.  Travel time should be charged to other leave policies such as vacation leave or compensatory leave.

A. You should contact the Communities In Schools of North Carolina (CISNC) program at 919-832-2700 or visit their web site at www.cisnc.org.   CISNC connects community resources with students and their families at the school site.

A. The tutoring/mentoring policy includes public schools, charter schools, private schools, and child care programs. Currently, home school programs do not meet eligibility requirements for the formal tutoring/mentoring program.  Employees can use the 24 hours of Community Service Leave for home schooling activities.