Title 16, Title 16 Title 16

(a) Every child who has completed, or will have completed, six (6) years of life on or before September 1 of any school year, or is enrolled in kindergarten, and has not completed eighteen (18) years of life, shall regularly attend some public day school during all the days and h…

(a) The Coventry and Woonsocket school departments or school committees may accept any and all donations, gifts and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials and services, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the federal government, or any governmental entity or agency…

(a) Whenever any pupil in grades kindergarten through nine (9) fails to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil’s parent or guardian is aware of the pupil’s absence, a reasonable effort to notify,…

For the purposes of this chapter a private school or at-home instruction shall be approved only when it complies with the following requirements: (1) that the period of attendance of the pupils in the school or in the home instruction is substantially equal to that required by la…

The school committee of each city or town shall annually in the month of December appoint one or more persons as truant officers, who shall by virtue of their appointment be clothed with the power of special constables, and fix their compensation, which shall be payable from the …

The truant officers shall, under the direction of the school committee, inquire into all cases arising under the provisions of this chapter, and shall be authorized, with the assistance of police officers upon request in case of violation of any of the provisions of this chapter,…

Truant officers and industrial inspectors may visit any places or establishments where minor children are employed to ascertain whether the provisions of this chapter are duly complied with, and may as often as twice in every year demand from all employers of minor children a rep…

Every habitual truant, that is, every child who is required under § 16-19-1 to attend school and who willfully and habitually absents himself or herself from attending school; and every habitual school offender, that is, every child who is required to attend school under the prov…

All fines under the provisions of §§ 16-19-1 and 16-19-5 shall inure and be applied to the support of the public schools in the city or town where the offense was committed.

(a) Jurisdiction of cases arising under § 16-19-1 may reside with juvenile hearing boards in those cities and towns that so desire to hear these cases and which have established juvenile hearing boards. Any municipal juvenile hearing board established pursuant to this section sha…

No officer complaining under any of the provisions of this chapter shall be required to give surety for costs; and the officer shall not in any way become liable for any costs that may accrue on the complaint.

The first day of January (as New Year’s Day), the third Monday of January (as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), the twenty-second day of February (as Washington’s Birthday), the thirtieth day of May (as Memorial Day), the fourth day of July (as Independence Day), the twelfth day of O…

In addition to the holidays in § 16-20-1, the governor may proclaim school holidays for the purpose of using the school premises and/or personnel in whole or in part for the state and/or federal administration in connection with a war effort, and the days so proclaimed may on spe…

The twelfth day of February (as Grand Army Flag Day, in honor of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln), the last Friday in April (as Arbor Day), the fourth day of May (as Rhode Island Independence Day), the thirteenth day of September (as Commodore John Barry Day), and each of these d…

It shall be the duty of the teachers of the public schools to prepare a program of patriotic exercises for the proper observance of Grand Army Flag Day. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prepare for the use of the schools a printed program providing for a…

There is hereby created a permanent commission to be known as the Rhode Island Permanent Commission on Civic Education to consist of twenty-one (21) members; three (3) of whom shall be from the house of representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be a…

(a) The commission is empowered to appoint committees to study specialized areas of concern and to report their findings and recommendations to the commission; provided, however, that one of these committees shall be a Rhode Island history committee. (b) All departments and agenc…

As used in this chapter, “civic education” means the goal of education in civic and government is informed, responsible participation in political life by competent citizens committed to the fundamental values and principles on American constitutional democracy. Their effective a…

(a) The school committee of any town or city shall provide suitable transportation, that may include, but is not limited to, pupil transportation vehicles as defined in § 31-22.1-1, to and from school for pupils attending public and private schools of elementary and high school g…

(a) The school committee of any city or town or regional school district in this state may maintain a registry of any students who will require busing during the school year. (b) The students’ parents may register the names and addresses of students with the school district at th…

The school health program shall provide for the yearly screening or examination for scoliosis of all school children in grades six (6) through eight (8) and the preservation of records of the screening or examinations of those children. The parent or guardian of any child in grad…

The school committee may provide at the expense of the town or city proper dental treatment for children, found to be suffering from dental defects or conditions arising from dental defects, whose parents or guardians or custodians neglect to provide proper dental treatment withi…

(a) The program shall provide for screenings of the hearing, speech, and vision of all children in these schools, and the preservation of records of the screenings of the children and notification of the parent or guardian of any child where there is an identified or suspected sp…

(a) Upon entering kindergarten or within thirty (30) days of the start of the school year, the parent or guardian of each child shall present to school health personnel certification that the child, within the previous twelve (12) months has passed a vision screening conducted by…

(a) Every student and teacher in a public or private school, college, or university participating in any of the courses listed in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection shall be required to wear approved eye protective devices at all times while participating in the courses …

Any teacher having reasonable cause to suspect that a secondary or elementary student under eighteen (18) years of age is addicted to a narcotic drug or under the influence of a dangerous drug who reports this information to the appropriate secondary or elementary school official…

Every school department shall provide school bus safety instructions for all children in grades kindergarten through six (6). The instruction shall take place at least four (4) times per year, two (2) of which shall take place during the months of September and October.

The school penalty for bringing or possessing a weapon as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921, a firearm or realistic replica of a firearm within school premises, premises being used for school purposes or activities, into a vehicle used for school transportation, or onto a roadway or pat…

(a) Students with disabilities as defined by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1415, shall be subject to the provisions of § 16-21-18 to the extent permitted by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1415. (b) Students with disabil…

The department of elementary and secondary education in conjunction with the attorney general’s task force to prevent violence in schools shall develop requirements for the alternative placement of students suspended under the provision of § 16-21-18. The placements shall be coop…

Each school committee shall make, maintain, and enforce a student discipline code. The purpose of the code is to foster a positive environment that promotes learning. The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide necessary technical assistance in the developm…

The discipline of any public school student for violating a school policy relating to the possession or use of alcohol, drugs or weapons not described in § 16-21-18 of this chapter, shall be imposed on a case-by-case basis pursuant to guidelines developed and promulgated by the s…

(a) The department of elementary and secondary education and the department of health shall incorporate into their policies, rules, and regulations pertaining to school health programs a procedure for addressing incidents of anaphylaxis (exaggerated allergic reaction) in order to…

(a) Each school district of each town, city, and regional school department shall conduct a school safety assessment in conjunction with local police, fire, school safety team pursuant to the provisions of this section and any other expert said school department deems necessary. …

(a) It shall be the duty of the department of elementary and secondary education to collaborate with the Rhode Island emergency management agency, state police, state fire marshal, the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, and other safety…

(a) Each local school board or committee shall adopt written policies for the establishment of threat assessment teams, including the assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students consistent with the mod…

(a) School safety plans, as required by this chapter, shall address, but not to be limited to, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The school safety plans shall include, at a minimum, the following policies and procedures: (1) Appropriate prevention, mit…

(a) Each city, town, or regional department school safety plan and school emergency response plans shall be reviewed on an annual basis by the school committee and updated annually. These reviews and updates shall be completed by November 1 of any given year, and by December 31 o…

Each school district shall adopt a plan to ensure continued education of students who are removed from the classroom because of a suspension of more than ten (10) days or who are chronically truant. The plan shall be adopted by the school committee and shall be submitted to Rhode…

(a) The school committee of each school district shall establish a district-wide coordinated school health and wellness subcommittee chaired by a member of the full school committee. The subcommittee will make recommendations regarding the district’s health education curriculum a…

(a) Approximately one in five hundred (500) school children have diabetes. Individuals with diabetes need to manage their diabetes carefully to keep their blood glucose levels within target range. (b) High blood glucose levels contribute to medical complications, such as blindnes…

(a) The department of elementary and secondary education and the department of health shall incorporate into their policies, rules and regulations for addressing incidents of hypoglycemia resulting in unconsciousness, seizure and/or the inability to swallow in order to provide fo…

The department of health, in conjunction with the American diabetes association, and the Rhode Island chapter of American academy of pediatrics, shall develop performance standards and guidelines for the training and supervision of personnel, other than the school nurse, who prov…

No school teacher, school administrator, school health care personnel, person employed on behalf of the school, any other school personnel, nor any local educational authority shall be liable for civil damages which may result from acts or omissions in use of glucagon which may c…

Training on the administration of epinephrine or glucagon for school personnel, or those employed on behalf of the school, shall not be considered the delegation of nursing practice.

The administration of epinephrine or glucagon by school personnel, or those employed on behalf of the school, shall not be considered the practice of nursing.