Title 16, Title 16 Title 16

(a) Beginning in fiscal year 2001, the general assembly shall appropriate and distribute to each locally or regionally operated district a sum equal to the number of full-time kindergarten students reported as a member of each district as of the reference year as defined in § 16-…

The general assembly establishes the Student Technology Investment Fund to provide schools and teaching staff with up-to-date educational technology and training to help students meet the demands of the 21st century. Rhode Island’s Comprehensive Education Strategy calls for provi…

The special joint commission established in § 16-79-2 supports the funding program established in § 16-7.1-15 and shall continue to assess its effectiveness as a comprehensive state education aid funding program. The commission will examine the needs of pre-kindergarten aged chil…

(a) Each locally or regionally operated school district shall receive as a base the same amount of school aid as each district received in fiscal year 1997-1998, adjusted to reflect the increases or decreases in aid enacted to meet the minimum and maximum funding levels establish…

(a) In addition to those funds described in § 16-7.1-15, each district with a tax effort index below 1.0 as calculated pursuant to § 16-7.1-6 and with a free and reduced lunch count in grades K-3 greater than forty percent (40%) shall receive targeted school aid. Districts shall …

(a) There is hereby established an after-school program for middle schools and junior and senior high schools to be administered by the department of elementary and secondary education. (b) Each district receiving targeted funds under this section must use a portion of these fund…

Funding of the investment funds enumerated in § 16-7.1-6, 16-7.1-8, 16-7.1-9, 16-7.1-10, 16-7.1-11, and 16-7.1-12 shall be by funds set aside from the state operations aid to be provided to school districts in the same manner as funds set aside and provided to school districts pu…

(a) The general assembly recognizes the need to support the academic instruction component of vocational education for students enrolled in career and technical education programs. To accomplish this, the general assembly shall appropriate some sum per student for each student wh…

(a) The board of regents shall adopt and publish statewide standards of performance and performance benchmarks in core subject areas, to include writing and mathematics (grades four (4), eight (8), and ten (10)). These standards and performance benchmarks shall be ratified by the…

All school districts shall implement a uniform program to track educational expenditures and investments. All school districts shall prepare annual reports of its programs which shall be submitted to the department of elementary and secondary education by July 31 of each year. Th…

On or before March 31 of each year, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall annually publish a report detailing school district and individual school performance consistent with § 16-60-4(22). This report shall also set annual performance benchmarks. Also, th…

(a) The board of regents shall adopt a series of progressive support and intervention strategies consistent with the Comprehensive Education Strategy and the principles of the “School Accountability for Learning and Teaching” (SALT) of the board of regents for those schools and s…

(a) No later than September 1, 2022, and in order to assess the Providence school district across multiple measures of district performance and student success, the commissioner shall update the turnaround action plan released June 23, 2020 (the “turnaround plan”), to include mea…

For the duration of the effective period of the order of reconstitution and control, any collective bargaining agreement entered into on behalf of the Providence public school district shall not take effect until ratified by the council on elementary and secondary education at a …

The general assembly recognizes that Rhode Island cities and towns primarily rely on the local property tax to finance education programs, and that the state’s highest effective property tax rates are concentrated in the state’s urban communities. Therefore, certain communities, …

The general assembly recognizes the need to improve fourth grade performances in mathematics, reading, and writing. Therefore, the general assembly establishes the Student Equity Investment Fund to target students identified as those requiring additional educational services. The…

The general assembly recognizes the strength Rhode Island’s growing cultural diversity brings to the overall economic and social health of the state. Therefore, the general assembly establishes the Student Language Assistance Investment Fund to target state resources to assist st…

This chapter shall be known as the “Educational Records Bill of Rights Act”.

The parents or guardians of each child enrolled in an elementary or secondary school within the state, or the student if over the age of eighteen (18), shall annually be notified in writing by the school district responsible for the operation of the school of their rights under t…

(a) The parent, legal guardian, or eligible student, shall have the following enumerated rights: (1) The right to personally inspect and review records in existence at the time of the request that are required to be kept by law or regulation of the student within ten (10) days of…

Should a decision be rendered against the school system, the records shall be corrected by the school system in accordance with the decision.

The rights of parents as enumerated in this chapter shall also pertain to legal guardians.

For the purposes of this chapter the term “records” shall be defined in accordance with the definition of “education records” contained in 20 U.S.C. § 1232g.

(a) The general assembly recognizes the need for an equitable distribution of resources among the state’s school districts, property tax relief and a predicable method of distributing education aid. The general assembly finds that there is a need to reform the way public educatio…

On or before November 15, 2010, the department of education shall report to the senate president, speaker of the house, and chairs of the Senate and House Finance Committees on the following: (a) The identification and evaluative impact of alternative mechanisms to update or supp…

(a) There is hereby established a joint legislative committee to develop a basic foundation support program and an appropriate transition plan to fully implement a new funding system. The committee shall consist of ten (10) members, five (5) of which shall be appointed by the spe…

(a) Beginning in the 2012 fiscal year, the following foundation education-aid formula shall take effect. The foundation education aid for each district shall be the sum of the core instruction amount in subsection (a)(1) of this section and the amount to support high-need student…

(a) For each district, the state’s share of the foundation education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3(a) shall use a calculation that considers a district’s revenue-generating capacity and concentration of high-need students. The calculation is the square root of the sum of …

(a) Charter public schools, as defined in chapter 77 of this title, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School (Davies), and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (the Met Center) shall be funded pursuant to § 16-7.2-3. If the October 1 actual enr…

In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for: (a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when an individual special edu…

(a) The general assembly shall annually determine the appropriation of education aid pursuant to this chapter using a transition plan to begin in fiscal year 2012, not to exceed seven (7) years for LEA’s for whom the calculated education aid pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 is more than th…

(a) Pursuant to §§ 16-7.1-3 and 16-7.1-5, the department of elementary and secondary education (the “department”) shall use the uniform chart of accounts to maintain fiscal accountability for education expenditures that comply with applicable laws and regulations including, but n…

This chapter applies to education aid for any city, town or regional school district including the Central Falls state operated school district, charter schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School, and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center…

This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Rhode Island Challenge Grants Act”.

The legislature recognizes that the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island would be greatly strengthened by the addition of funds for capital improvements which are essential for the maintenance and future development of physic…

(a) For the duration of the program, each institution of public higher education shall be eligible to receive one-third (⅓) of the funds estimated to be available by the director of administration. Provided, in no instance shall amounts allocated by the board of governors exceed …

When the sum of the challenge grant and matching funds for a particular capital project has been deposited into the institutional foundation’s capital fund account, the president of the institution shall recommend to the board of governors for higher education the establishment o…

It is found and declared that: (1) All children are capable of success and schools are the centers of vibrant communities. The growing social needs of children directly affect their ability to perform successfully in school because health, emotional, social, and family problems c…

“Child opportunity zone,” Rhode Island’s community school initiative, means a site at or near a school that provides: early childhood initiatives; before-school, after-school, and summer enrichment programs; health and mental health services; parent engagement, adult education, w…

The children’s cabinet shall incorporate into its strategic plan “child opportunity zones” as a means to deliver comprehensive and coordinated social services at or near public school sites. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall undertake activities includi…

The commissioner of elementary and secondary education may promulgate any rules and regulations that are deemed necessary for the purpose of this chapter.

The purpose of child opportunity zones is to implement programs related to the specific community needs that ultimately increase student performance in school. The child opportunity zone shall provide a means to integrate education, health, and social services into schools and li…

The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide an annual report by August 1 of each year to the president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives regarding the number of children and families served, and appropriate outcome data for each prog…

(a) The current system of education financing does not provide for absolute equity, does not account completely for individual student needs, and relies too heavily on the property tax, and the governor through executive order 92-9 and the twenty-first century commission through …

(a) The guaranteed student entitlement program shall: (1) Limit the property tax rate levied in each community for education; (2) Provide for the costs necessary to educate students with special or additional needs; (3) Provide for an examination of expenditures to determine thei…

As used in this chapter, “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to this conduct or advances or requests is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or cond…