A school volunteer is a non-paid person who serves in an auxiliary capacity under the direction and supervision of school personnel. A volunteer is one who performs duties that an employee could perform such as making copies, filing, sorting, escorting students, assisting with lunch duty, media center or front office tasks. Any person who leads or assists students other than own in programs or tutors a student(s) is considered a volunteer.

To begin the volunteer process, please complete the child abuse reporting training and the online registration process by clicking on the link above in this page. When registering, one must use their legal name as it appears on your government identification. The process is self-paced. On your first visit to the school, your government identification will be required.

No. House Bill 1176 was signed by Governor Deal on May 2, 2012. This Bill revised OCGA 19-7-5 requiring all school affiliated volunteers to become "mandated reporters" of suspected child abuse. Fulton County Schools is simply complying with a state law.

No. A parent acting in the role of a parent is not required to register or complete the child abuse reporting training. Examples include visitors to the school for: parent / teacher conferences, 504/IEP meetings, school wide and classroom programs, eating lunch with their child or any visit to sign in or check out their student. Visitors must however sign-in at the front desk and offer their government identification to be scanned into the visitor identification system.

No. The district approves volunteers. However, it will be vitally important that you choose the schools you wish to volunteer in during the registration process.

Not necessarily. The questions during the registration process are very specific about past felony offenses. If you answer "yes" to any of the questions, you’re required to contact the Department of Safety & Security for additional screening prior to volunteering in any capacity. These offenses will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Individuals on the GBI registry will be automatically excluded from volunteer opportunities.

Yes. In accordance with OCGA 42-1-12, the GBI is the central repository for Georgia's Violent Sexual Offender Registry. You may visit their website for more information: https://gbi.georgia.gov/services/georgia-sex-offender-registry

Contact your local police department with any questions. The municipal law enforcement agency is tasked with investigating community concerns, not the school district.

Volunteers may work with small groups of students or an individual student in a tutoring or mentoring capacity or assist in other ways at the principal’s discretion. A volunteer may work with an individual student only in an open area such as a hallway or media center, or in an area where they are observed by another volunteer or staff member. At no time should a volunteer be left alone and unobserved with an individual student in a private or secluded area such as an office or classroom. However, persons operating in an official capacity such as a court-appointed advocate, who provide proper identification and have parental or guardian permission, may meet privately with students without being observed.

Volunteers may assist students beyond the school day. The school volunteer policy applies beyond the regular school day during extra-curricular and school-sponsored activities. During such activities, volunteers should not be alone with a student unless specifically directed to do so by a staff person in charge, and then only under emergency or exceptional circumstances.