Title 16, Title 16 Title 16

(a) The department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals shall be charged with the administration of this chapter and shall contract with appropriate substance abuse prevention/intervention agencies to provide student assistance services in junior hig…

(a) Money to fund this program shall be raised by assessing an additional substance abuse prevention assessment of thirty dollars ($30.00) for all moving motor vehicle violations handled by the traffic tribunal including, but not limited to, those violations set forth in § 31-41.…

The director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals or his or her designated agent shall make an annual report by September 1 of each year to the governor and general assembly on the administration of the program and shall submit to t…

The established permanent legislative oversight commission on substance abuse prevention shall oversee the implementation and administration of this chapter and shall advise and make recommendations to the general assembly as to the adequacy and efficiency of all statutes, rules,…

(a) For the purposes of this chapter “performance-enhancing dietary supplement” means a dietary supplement designed or marketed to improve athletic performance or physical development by promoting body or muscle growth, stimulating or altering the cardiovascular system or the cen…

(a) No teacher, athletic director, sports coach, or other school official or employee may knowingly sell or distribute to students or knowingly promote the use by students of any performance-enhancing dietary supplement. (b) No high school or public or private university or colle…

(a) The director of the department of health, in consultation with the commissioner of the state department of elementary and secondary education shall develop a list of performance-enhancing dietary supplements for the purposes of this chapter. The list shall be developed on or …

(a) Effective September 1, 2006, each mandatory first aid course for athletic coaches required pursuant to § 16-11-1 shall include health information relating to performance-enhancing dietary supplements consistent with the purposes of this chapter. (b) For the purposes of this s…

(a) Community policing and the presence of school resource officers on school campuses serve a vital role fostering a safe learning environment for pupils, faculty and staff. (b) In order to enable school resource officers to more effectively fulfill this role, it is the intent o…

(a) Before making an elementary school pupil available to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of being questioned, the principal of the elementary school, or his or her designee, shall take immediate steps to obtain the oral consent of the parent or guardian of the pupil to…

(a) Before making a high school pupil under eighteen (18) years of age available to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of questioning, the principal of the school, or his or her designee, shall inform the pupil that the pupil has the right to request that his or her parent…

The provisions of §§ 16-21.5-2 and 16-21.5-3 shall not apply if any of the following conditions exist: (a) The law enforcement officer reasonably believes that, due to exigent circumstances, the inability of the officer to immediately question the pupil will materially interfere …

For the purposes of this chapter, “elementary school pupils” are the pupils who are enrolled in kindergarten or any grades 1 to 8, inclusive. “High school pupils” are the pupils who are enrolled in any grades 9 to 12, inclusive.

(a) “Internet-filtering measures” means the use of a specific technology or program to block or filter access to websites on the internet. (b) Each school district shall adopt the model, written policy developed by the department of education, pursuant to subsection (e), addressi…

This act shall be known and may be cited as “The Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act.”

(a) The department of education shall adopt rules and regulations supporting suicide awareness and prevention training each year for public school personnel and students. (b)(1) Training shall be required of all personnel hired or contracted by the school district, including, but…

(a) Each public school district shall adopt a policy on student suicide prevention. This policy shall, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. For the purposes of this chapter, “postvention” means counseling, or other social…

(a) No person shall have a cause of action for any loss or damage caused by any act or omission resulting from the implementation of the provisions of this chapter or resulting from any training required by this chapter, or lack thereof, unless caused by willful or wanton miscond…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “School Emergency Drills Act.”

As used in this chapter: (1) “Active shooter simulation” means any imitation of a school shooting situation that depicts events using authentic or simulated items including, but not limited to, authentic or simulated weapons, gunfire, imaginary fatalities or simulated blood or ca…

School administrators and school support personnel shall have the discretion to modify an emergency drill or training for students they determine is appropriate. School administrator and school support personnel may include and consult with a student’s individualized education pr…

Students, teachers, and staff are prohibited from being required to participate in active shooter simulations. Law enforcement personnel may choose to run an active shooter simulation, including simulated gun fire drills; provided that, the drill is scheduled only on days when st…

Each September, at the commencement of the school year, schools shall provide parents or guardians with a written notification containing an overview of all emergency drills training, together with a description of each drill and its components.

(a) As used herein, the term “emergency event” refers to an incident that prompts a school to implement an emergency response that is not a scheduled drill. (b) Schools and school districts shall develop and implement a debriefing plan to be utilized after an actual emergency eve…

This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as “The Rhode Island statewide virtual education act.”

The legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (1) A well-educated population benefits Rhode Island, supports its communities, enhances the standard of living for all of its citizens, increases its capacity for success, and lays the foundation for shared prosperity. (2)…

The purpose of this chapter is to provide access to high quality, rigorous, and relevant online learning opportunities for all of Rhode Island’s public school students and to ensure promulgation of virtual learning regulations supporting access to high quality virtual instruction…

When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Board” means the Rhode Island board of regents for elementary and secondary education. (2) “Commissioner” means the Rhode Island commissioner for elementary and secondary education. (3) “Course…

With the direction and approval of the board of regents for elementary and secondary education, the commissioner for elementary and secondary education shall develop and promulgate regulations for Rhode Island school districts and other educational organizations that are using or…

(a) The commissioner shall utilize existing evaluation processes and protocols established through regulations adopted by the board of regents to ensure student access to quality and effective online content and instruction. (b) Quality assurance reporting shall occur through the…

In partnership with the commissioner of higher education, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall promote access to high quality virtual courses for all public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students.

(a) It is the intent of the legislature to encourage excellence for all pupils, and the legislature wishes to publicly recognize pupils for exemplary achievements in academic studies. (b) The study of languages other than English in elementary and secondary schools should be enco…

(a) A state seal of biliteracy is established to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages, in addition to English. The state seal of biliteracy shall be awarded by the commi…

(a) For admissions purposes, each public university and public community college in this state shall accept the state Silver Seal of Biliteracy and the Gold Seal of Biliteracy as world language coursework if taken during high school and if a student’s high school transcript indic…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The Rhode Island Autism Spectrum Disorder Education Act.”

It is hereby found and declared as follows: (a) Autism is a neurobiological, developmental disorder that is defined by behavioral and development features. (b) Autism is best characterized as a spectrum of disorders that vary in severity of symptoms, age of onset and association …

It shall be the goal and purpose of this act to promote the early diagnosis of ASD and therapeutic strategies for treatment and assistance to individuals with autism. The state of Rhode Island must take the lead in combating the increasingly rapid problems associated with “ASD” a…

To implement the state’s autism public policies, the following steps should be taken: (1) The department of health shall develop a coordinated plan for collecting prevalence data and reporting it; (2) The department of human services shall continue to raise public awareness espec…

As used in this chapter: (1) “Blind student” means an individual who is eligible for special education services and who: (i) Has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of vision so that the widest diameter subtends an ang…

In developing the individualized educational program for those students who demonstrate loss of functional vision that renders the reading of print inefficient, the presumption shall be that proficiency in Braille reading and writing is essential for the student to achieve satisf…

Instruction in Braille reading and writing shall be sufficient to enable each blind student to communicate effectively and efficiently with the same level of proficiency expected of the student’s peers of comparable ability and grade level. The student’s individualized education …

The board of regents for elementary and secondary education shall require teachers seeking certification to teach students who are blind or visually impaired to demonstrate competency in reading and writing Braille. The board shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provis…

As used in this chapter: (1) “American sign language” means the visual/gestural language used by deaf people in the United States and Canada, with semantic, syntactic, morphological, and phonological rules which are distinct from English. (2) “Deaf student” means an individual wh…

(a) In developing the individualized educational program for those students who are deaf or hard of hearing, the assessments necessary for the development of the program shall include a language assessment performed for each student to determine that student’s primary communicati…

Individuals involved in administering assessment tools to students who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be proficient in the student’s primary communication mode, style, or language as determined by a language assessment consistent with the requirements of § 16-25.2-2. All asses…

The board of regents for elementary and secondary education shall require teachers seeking certification to teach students who are deaf or hard of hearing after July 3, 1995 to demonstrate competency in American sign language in addition to the English language and communication …