2021 -- S 0373

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION

     

     Introduced By: Senators Pearson, DiPalma, Seveney, Gallo, and Murray

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The

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Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     16-7.2-5. Charter public schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical

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High School, and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center.

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     (a) Charter public schools, as defined in chapter 77 of this title, the William M. Davies, Jr.

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Career and Technical High School (Davies), and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical

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Center (the Met Center) shall be funded pursuant to § 16-7.2-3. If the October 1 actual enrollment

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data for any charter public school shows a ten percent (10%) or greater change from the prior year

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enrollment which is used as the reference year average daily membership, the last six (6) monthly

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payments to the charter public school will be adjusted to reflect actual enrollment. The state share

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of the permanent foundation education aid shall be paid by the state directly to the charter public

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schools, Davies, and the Met Center pursuant to § 16-7.2-9 and shall be calculated using the state-

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share ratio of the district of residence of the student as set forth in § 16-7.2-4. The department of

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elementary and secondary education shall provide the general assembly with the calculation of the

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state share of permanent foundation education aid for charter public schools delineated by school

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district.

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     (b) The local share of education funding shall be paid to the charter public school, Davies,

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and the Met Center by the district of residence of the student and shall be the local, per-pupil cost

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calculated by dividing the local appropriation to education from property taxes, net of debt service,

 

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and capital projects, as defined in the uniform chart of accounts by the average daily membership

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for each city and town, pursuant to § 16-7-22, for the reference year.

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     (c) Beginning with the new enrollments for the 2022-2023 academic year, the local share

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of education funding shall be paid to charter public schools based upon a comparison of

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performance data between the specific school from which the student is coming and the specific

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charter school that will be receiving the student. For purposes of this subsection, performance shall

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be defined pursuant to § 16-97.1-1.

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     (1) If the receiving charter school has outperformed the student's specific school in each of

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the prior two (2) academic years, the local share of education funding paid to the receiving charter

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school shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the local, per-pupil cost described in subsection (b)

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of this section.

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     (2) If the student's specific school has outperformed the receiving charter school in each of

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the prior two (2) academic years, the local share of education funding paid to the receiving charter

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school shall be fifty percent (50%) of the local, per-pupil cost described in subsection (b) of this

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section.

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     (3) In any fiscal year, no school district's total charter school expenses, defined as the sum

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of tuitions and state education aid paid to charter schools for students from that district, shall exceed

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nine percent (9%) of the district's adopted budget; however, if the council on elementary and

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secondary education determines that the school district is in the lowest ten percent (10%) of all

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statewide student performance scores released in each of the two (2) consecutive academic years

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prior to the date the student submits the charter school application, the school district's total charter

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school expense may exceed nine percent (9%) of the district's adopted budget; provided that, it

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shall not exceed eighteen percent (18%); provided, further, if in FY 2022 any district's total charter

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school expenses exceed the nine percent (9%) or eighteen percent (18%) caps prescribed in this

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subsection, no new enrollments shall be allowed from that district to charter schools until the

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district's charter school expenses are in compliance with the caps in this subsection.

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     (c)(d) Beginning in FY 2017, there shall be a reduction to the local per pupil funding paid

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by the district of residence to charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center. This reduction

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shall be equal to the greater (i) Of seven percent (7%) of the local, per-pupil funding of the district

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of residence pursuant to subsection (b) or (ii) The per-pupil value of the district's costs for non-

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public textbooks, transportation for non-public students, retiree health benefits, out-of-district

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special-education tuition and transportation, services for students age eighteen (18) to twenty-one

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(21) years old, pre-school screening and intervention, and career and technical education, tuition

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and transportation costs, debt service and rental costs minus the average expenses incurred by

 

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charter schools for those same categories of expenses as reported in the uniform chart of accounts

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for the prior preceding fiscal year pursuant to § 16-7-16(11) and verified by the department of

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elementary and secondary education. In the case where audited financials result in a change in the

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calculation after the first tuition payment is made, the remaining payments shall be based on the

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most recent audited data. For those districts whose greater reduction occurs under the calculation

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of (ii), there shall be an additional reduction to payments to mayoral academies with teachers who

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do not participate in the state teacher's retirement system under chapter 8 of title 36 equal to the

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per-pupil value of teacher retirement costs attributable to unfunded liability as calculated by the

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state's actuary for the prior preceding fiscal year.

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     (d)(e) Local district payments to charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center for

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each district's students enrolled in these schools shall be made on a quarterly basis in July, October,

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January, and April; however, the first local-district payment shall be made by August 15, instead

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of July. Failure of the community to make the local-district payment for its student(s) enrolled in a

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charter public school, Davies, and/or the Met Center may result in the withholding of state

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education aid pursuant to § 16-7-31.

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     (e) Beginning in FY 2017, school districts with charter public school, Davies, and the Met

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Center enrollment, that, combined, comprise five percent (5%) or more of the average daily

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membership as defined in § 16-7-22, shall receive additional aid for a period of three (3) years. Aid

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in FY 2017 shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies,

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or the Met Center students as of the reference year as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount

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of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175). Aid in FY 2018 shall be equal to the number of charter

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public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies, or the Met Center students as of the reference year

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as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount of one hundred dollars ($100). Aid in FY 2019

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shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies, or the Met

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Center students as of the reference year as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount of fifty

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dollars ($50.00). The additional aid shall be used to offset the adjusted fixed costs retained by the

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districts of residence.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION

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     This act would amend the local share of education funding to be paid to charter public

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schools based on a comparison of performance data between the specific school from which the

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student is coming and the specific charter school that will be receiving the student.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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