2022 -- H 7637

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LC004695

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- ADULT EDUCATION

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, McGaw, Alzate, Carson, Speakman,
Caldwell, Diaz, Henries, Amore, and Potter

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2022

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 16-63-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-63 entitled "Adult

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Education [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby

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amended to read as follows:

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     16-63-5. Categories of adult education programs and service.

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     Programs and services constituting adult education, as defined in § 16-58-2, shall be

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categorized and defined as follows:

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     (1) Category 1. Basic education, which shall consist of efforts to alleviate illiteracy and

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provide opportunities for academic achievement up to grade twelve (12) and to transition to post-

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secondary education or training. and which Services shall include instruction in reading, writing,

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arithmetic, literature, social studies, science, pre-vocational subjects, digital literacy, and other

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knowledge and skills necessary to cope in contemporary life obtain, retain or advance in

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employment that pays a family-sustaining wage; courses in Americanization civics and citizenship

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for immigrants; teaching English to persons with no or limited ability with the language; and

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preparation for the demonstration of competencies to qualify for the adult high school diploma or

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for examinations to earn the general educational development or high school equivalency diploma.

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The department shall support national best practices including the integrated education and training

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model, known locally as "RI-BEST" to ensure success for lower skilled adults in postsecondary

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and workforce pathways.

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     (2) Category 2. Vocational training, which shall consist of the imparting of knowledge and

 

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skills necessary to become gainfully employed, at least at entry level, in a recognized occupation,

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and thus attain economic self-sufficiency, and which shall be conveyed by classroom instruction,

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on the job training, apprenticeships, and other appropriate methods. The department shall support

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"learn and earn" models that provide stipends to program participants in order that they can meet

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basic needs during program participation.

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     (3) Category 3. Higher education, consisting of opportunities for adults to enter or re-enter

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universities and colleges, whether matriculating or nonmatriculating, at undergraduate and graduate

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levels, and whether part-time or full-time.

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     (4) Category 4. Continuing education in professional and technological occupations, which

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shall consist of efforts to insure that minimum competencies are maintained by persons who are

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employed in occupations which bear on the public health, safety, or general welfare, and for which

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there are licensing, certification, or other credentialing provisions in the general laws, and in which

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those persons shall participate, individually or in groups, by periodic reviews of fundamental and

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up to date knowledge and skills, in-service experience, performance assessment, or other systematic

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and ongoing methods, and which may involve earning continuing education units.

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     (5) Category 5. General personal development, which shall consist of any formal or

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informal activity in the pursuit and development of avocational, social, cultural, artistic,

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enrichment, recreational, or other interests.

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     (6) Category 6. Public service education, consisting of efforts, through mass media and by

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other methods, to inform, educate, and motivate residents of the state on vital and timely subjects,

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such as health, safety, civic affairs, and social concerns and behavior.

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     (7) Category 7. Supportive services, which shall consist of various accommodations

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intended to facilitate the pursuit of adult education in any of these specified categories, and which

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shall include information, counseling, and other guidance services, financial aid, care of children

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and other dependent persons, transportation, and other services.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 16-63 of the General Laws entitled "Adult Education [See Title 16

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Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto the

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following sections:

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     16-63-19. Strategic plan.

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     The department shall develop a strategic plan for adult education that includes a needs

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assessment and lays out an equity-informed roadmap for adult learner services and opportunities.

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The department shall ensure robust input from adult learners enrolled in current programs, as well

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as those individuals who may benefit from such services and ensure input from residents in different

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geographic areas of the state, as well as reflecting Rhode Islanders of different races and ethnicities.

 

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The department shall also seek input from members of the governor’s workforce investment board.

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The strategic plan shall be completed by March, 2023, and revised every three (3) years. The

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department shall use information from the strategic plan to inform the state plan for adult education

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as required by § 16-63-8.

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     16-63-20. Establishment of learning, intake, and assessment centers.

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     (a) The department is authorized and directed to create a network of learning, intake and

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assessment centers (LIAC) that are designed to support adults along the various stages of the

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workforce continuum by meeting them where they were at and connecting them to educational and

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training resources for a job, a better job, or a career.

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     (b) The learning, intake and assessment centers, shall offer reliable intake, just-in-time

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workforce development services; on-demand assessment; access to digital learning; targeted

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tutoring; employment readiness and career coaching; and referrals to educational and workforce

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training.

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     (c) The department shall determine the number of learning, intake and assessment centers

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that are necessary to meet adult learner needs, and where the centers will be located in order to

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provide geographic access and access to learners of diverse backgrounds. The centers shall be

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located at or staffed by current adult education provider organizations.

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     (d) The department shall create an accountability system for the programs housing a LIAC

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to report on adult learner use of the center and outcomes, but shall not require the program to use

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federal performance indicators for LIAC accountability purposes.

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     16-63-21. Appropriation to support and expand access to adult education services.

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     (a) There is hereby appropriated nine hundred fifty thousand dollars ($950,000) in funds

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available from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to enhance the digital literacy skills of adult

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learners. Such funds may be used to enable providers to increase capacity and proficiency to teach

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digital literacy skills and to enable learner participation through purchase of laptops or other devices

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as well as access to broadband services.

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     (b) There is hereby appropriated three million six hundred thousand dollars ($3,600,000)

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in ARPA funds for expansion of integrated educational and training programs, as authorized in

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chapter 102 of title 42 and five million seven hundred sixty thousand dollars ($5,760,000) to

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provide stipends for learners participating in "learn and earn" programs to demonstrate the

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effectiveness of these instructional models in enhancing participants’ success in increasing

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economic security through employment.

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     (c) There is hereby appropriated one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) in ARPA

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funds for the development of the strategic plan authorized in §16-63-19.

 

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     (d) There is hereby appropriated eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) in ARPA funds

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for the creation of learning, intake and assessment centers as authorized in § 16-63-20 to

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demonstrate the effectiveness of this service in assisting adult learners in making progress toward

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a job, a better job or a career.

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     (e) There is hereby appropriated an additional five hundred forty thousand dollars

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($540,000) in general revenue to allow the department to provide an inflation-adjusted increase in

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grants to adult education providers to meet the range of services authorized in § 16-63-5. These

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funds shall supplement and not supplant any other state or federal funds proposed to be appropriated

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to the department for FY 2023.

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     SECTION 3. 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 -- ADULT EDUCATION

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     This act would modernize, expand access and provide additional funds to adult education

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programs in the state, create a strategic plan for adult education and establish learning, intake and

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assessment centers.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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