ARTICLE 3 SUBSTITUTE
A AS AMENDED
RELATING TO
EDUCATION AID
SECTION
1. Sections 16-7.1-10 and 16-7.1-15 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-7.1
entitled “The Paul W. Crowley Rhode Island Student Investment
Initiative” are hereby amended
to read as follows:
16-7.1-10. Professional
development investment fund. -- (a) In order to
continue
developing the skills of
establishes a Professional Development Investment Fund. The
general assembly shall annually
appropriate some sum and distribute it based on a pupil-teacher
ratio that shall be adjusted
annually by the commissioner of elementary and secondary
education. School districts, including
collaboratives established pursuant to chapter 3.1 of this title,
may use funds received under this
category of education aid to replace up to, but no more than,
fifty percent (50%) of the amount
the school district spent for professional development
programs in the previous fiscal year. The
expenditure of these funds shall be determined by a committee at
each school consisting of the
school principal, two (2) teachers selected by the teaching
staff of the school, and two (2) parents
of students attending the school. Schools that enroll
students in the early grades (kindergarten
through grade three (3)) must expend these funds on the
development of scientific research based,
as described in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
Title 1, Part B, Section 1208 [20 U.S.C.
section 6368], reading instruction to improve students
reading performance.
Schools
that have met their performance targets in reading for the current academic
year and are not designated as a school in need of
improvement, may expend their Professional
Development Investment Funds on professional
development in the core academic subjects of
mathematics, writing, or reading to improve student performance.
Collaborative
programs between schools are encouraged. These resources shall be used
to close student performance gaps in accordance with the
school's and district's strategic plan
pursuant to section 16-7.1-2. Additional funds shall be
allocated to the department of elementary
and secondary education to support teacher and
administrator professional development in all
districts, including, but not limited to:
(1)
Supporting mentoring systems;
(2)
Providing school districts with program support to assist teachers in local
school
districts to improve reading instruction and enhance the
integration of reading throughout the
curriculum with the goal of improving student performance to
high standards;
(3)
Support for the design and implementation of leadership development for the
teacher to assume leadership roles or ultimately prepare for
administrator;
(4)
Development of a plan for formal training of school leaders in standards based
instruction, school improvement planning, effective use of data in
the decision-making process,
community involvement and creation of governance structures;
(5)
Support for national board certification of teachers, application fees for a
certificate
of clinical competence issued by the American
speech-language hearing association, and grants
for coordination and support of school based teacher
professional development; and
(6)
The practice of scientific research based reading instruction to improve
reading
performance.
(b) In
FY 2003, the additional funds allocated to the department of elementary and
secondary education pursuant to this section shall be used only
to support the activities described
in subdivisions (a)(2) and (a)(5) of this section.
(c) Out of the funds appropriated by the general assembly for
professional development
in subsection (a) of this section, twenty-five percent
(25%) shall be set aside for district-wide
professional development activities. The expenditure of this
district-wide professional
development set-aside shall be determined by a committee in each
district consisting of the
superintendent or his or her designee, three (3) teachers appointed
by the collective bargaining
agent, and one member of the
field service team servicing that school district
designated by the commissioner of elementary and
secondary education. The expenditure must be aligned with the
district strategic plan as well as
ongoing professional development programs approved by the
department of elementary and
secondary education. Collaborative programs between school
districts are permissible.
(d)
Beginning in FY 2006, professional development funds shall only be spent with
the
prior approval of the commissioner of elementary and
secondary education upon submission of a
district level plan which incorporates the school level plans
and which details the use of the
funds. These plans shall to the extent possible call for
professional development activities that are
embedded or do not otherwise encroach upon student instruction
time. The requirements of this
paragraph shall apply to both district-wide professional
development activities and professional
development activities determined by the school-level committees.
(e) In FY 2009 payments
from the professional development investment fund are hereby
suspended through June 30, 2009. Notwithstanding, school
districts may continue to maintain
professional development programs and may reduce other education
programs to achieve savings.
(f) In FY 2010
payments from the professional development investment fund are hereby
suspended through June 30, 2010. Notwithstanding, school
districts may continue to maintain
professional development programs and may reduce other education
programs to achieve savings.
16-7.1-15. The
Paul W.
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 established for FY
2000 through FY 2008. Each school district shall also receive school aid
through each investment
fund for which that district qualifies pursuant to
sections 16-7.1-8, 16-7.1-9, 16-7.1-10, 16-7.1-11,
16-7.1-12, 16-7.1-16 and 16-7.1-19. These sums shall be in addition to the base amount
described
in this section. For FY 2009 and FY 2010, the
reference year for the data used in the calculation
of aid pursuant to section 16-7.1-8, section 16-7.1-9,
section 16-7.1-10, section 16-7.1-11, section
16-7.1-11.1, section 16-7.1-12, section 16-7.1-16,
section 16-7.1-19 and 16-77.1-2(b) shall be FY
2004. Calculation and distribution of education aid
under sections 16-5-31, 16-5-32, 16-7-20, 16-
7-20.5, 16-7-34.2, 16-7-34.3, 16-24-6, 16-54-4, and
16-67-4 is hereby suspended. Provided,
however, calculation and distribution of education aid under
§16-7.1-10 is suspended for FY
2009 and FY 2010. School districts may continue to maintain
professional development programs
and may reduce other education programs to achieve
savings during FY 2009 and FY 2010. The
funding of the purposes and activities of chapter 67 of this
title, the Rhode Island Literacy and
Dropout Prevention Act of 1967, shall be the same
amount of the base amount of each district
funded for that purpose in fiscal year 1997-1998. In
addition each district shall expend three
percent (3%) of its student equity and early childhood funds
under the provisions of chapter 67 of
this title.
(b) Funding for
full day kindergarten programs in accordance with section 16-7.1-11.1
shall be in addition to funding received under this
section.
(c) Funding
distributed under sections 16-77.1-2(b) and 16-64-1.1 shall be in addition to
funding distributed under this section.
(d) For FY 2009, aid to
school districts shall be reduced by the equivalent savings that are
realized due to a reduction of payments to the teachers’
retirement system. The reduction for the
Chariho regional school district shall be prorated among the
member communities. In addition,
for FY 2009 aid to school districts shall be reduced by
any amount of previously appropriated
school housing aid determined to be ineligible for
reimbursement in accordance with section 16-
7-44.2. For FY 2009 aid shall also be reduced by the
amount of projected revenue for the period
December 1, 2008 through June 30,
2009 from the permanent school fund.
The projected revenue
shall be determined by annualizing actual earnings from the
period May 12, 2008 through
November 30, 2008. The department of elementary and
secondary education shall reduce aid in
two equal installments, payable in May and June; provided
however, that
receive one payment of reduced aid in May.
For FY 2009, aid to
school districts shall include thirty eight million, three hundred
twenty-four thousand, eight hundred twenty-two dollars
($38,324,822) from federal fiscal
stabilization funds offset by a like reduction from general
revenues. The distribution shall be in
the same proportion as general operating aid.
(e) For FY 2010, aid
to school districts shall be reduced by the equivalent savings that are
realized due to a reduction of payments to the teachers'
retirement system. The reduction for the
Chariho regional school district shall be prorated among the
member communities. For FY 2010,
aid to school districts shall be reduced by thirty-three
million nine hundred twenty-eight thousand
two hundred sixteen dollars ($33,928,216) based on the
school district's share of total FY 2009
enacted education aid, including state schools and charter
schools. For FY 2010, a distribution of
stabilization funds per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA) totaling thirty-four
million one hundred seven thousand one hundred ninety-five
dollars ($34,107,195) shall be
allocated to school districts proportionately based on their
share of total FY 2009 enacted
education aid, including state schools and charter schools.
Districts shall comply with the
assurances and reporting requirements provided in the federal
guidance for the (ARRA)
allocation and by the commissioner of elementary and secondary
education.
(e)(f)
There shall be an appropriation to ensure that total aid distributed to
communities in
FY 2009 2010 under this section and
sections 16-7.1-11.1, 16-64-1.1 and 16-77.1-2(b) shall be as
follows:
General
Revenues Stimulus
Fiscal Stabilization
1,277,920 1,863,090
251,083 128,427
Burrillville 12,416,932 12,928,167
751,100 684,478
1,667,853 1,697,497
135,786 98,948
16,998,821 18,056,601
1,166,987 991,787
29,591,104 31,662,364
2,090,303 1,752,647
11,038,431 11,829,002 823,601 654,948
992,445 1,503,975
185,222 96,326
23,380,338
24,499, 858 1,497,450
1,328,384
Foster 1,223,700
1,286,565 80,345
69,979
Glocester 2,793,626 2,927,940
180,413 158,776
Hopkinton 5,346,048
5,677,786 346,643
308,347
295,372 398,901
54,277 26,278
8,990,856 9,596,568
632,253 531,110
5,697,378 6,363,969
483,059 365,750
Little 218,957
296,650 34,414
18,221
9,010,090 9,533,084
597,011 518,598
Narragansett 1,141,871 1,467,137 154,558 93,727
10,327,939 10,744,683
665,740 586,477
New Shoreham 10,061 64,987 10,457 5,254
9,857,889 10,631,113
733,791 592,155
11,404,679 12,081,507
761,356 661,166
3,964,895 4,344,329
301,153 238,830
60,456,639 62,176,676
3,533,129 3,311,223
5,429,639 5,923,071
427,374 331,008
173,513,330 178,309,944
10,213,530 9,577,917
5,305,023 5,652,344
341,512 305,742
2,616,104 2,926,243 228,213 168,328
4,526,164 4,992,643
373,470 283,754
8,420,480 9,224,287
656,514 521,147
Tiverton 4,898,786
5,271,861 363,307
293,067
31,136,499 33,468,879
2,224,260 1,858,870
Westerly 5,056,525
5,774,932 467,083
338,074
17,994,252 18,738,108
1,109,170 1,009,842
42,914,456 44,074,702
2,490,378 2,342,811
Bristol-Warren 18,047,696 18,764,456 1,101,467 1,009,726
Exeter-West 6,406,468 6,814,331 438,869 374,779
Chariho 369,091 378,758
18,752 19,679
Foster-Glocester 4,930,835 5,194,804 335,529 283,077
40,523,665
42,507,399 2,065,263
2,167,539
In
addition to the amounts listed above, the department of elementary and
secondary
education shall allocate monthly to each school district all
funds received into the permanent
school fund pursuant to section 42-61.2-7, as amended by
chapter 13 of the 2008 Public Laws
entitled "An Act Relating to State Affairs and
Government", up to $14.1 million, in the same
proportion as the aid distribution in the FY 2009 enacted
appropriations act.
This
special provision shall not limit entitlements as determined by application of
other
formula provisions in this section.
(f)(g) For
FY 2009 payments to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a reduction of payments to
the teachers’ retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring school
district’s aid as noted in subsection (e)(f). Aid
to charter public schools shall be reduced in the
April quarterly payment. For FY 2009, charter public school funding is as
follows:
Compass 614,485
Paul Cuffee 4,449,006
CVS Highlander 2,596,782
International 2,863,818
Learning Community 3,669,529
NE Laborer’s 1,508,866
Textron 2,361,370
Times 2 Academy 6,870,410
(h) For FY 2010,
payments to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a deferment of payments to
the teachers' retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring schools
district's aid as noted in subsection (f). For FY 2010, payments
to charter public schools shall be
reduced by one million four hundred sixty-three thousand
three hundred sixty-seven dollars
($1,463,367) based on the charter schools' share of
total FY 2009 enacted education aid,
including school districts and state schools. For FY 2010, a
distribution of stabilization funds per
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
totaling one million four hundred
seventy-one thousand eighty-seven dollars ($1,471,087) shall be
allocated to charter public
schools proportionately based on their share of total FY 2009
enacted education aid, including
school districts and state schools. Public charter schools
shall comply with the assurances and
reporting requirements provided in the federal guidance for the
(ARRA) allocation and by the
commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
(g)(i) Children with disabilities. (1) Based on its review
of special education within the
context of
all children and preventing disability through scientific
research based, as described in the No
Child Left Behind Act of
2001, Title 1, Part B, Section 1208 [20 U.S.C. § 6368], reading
instruction and the development of Personal Literacy Programs for
students in the early grades
performing below grade level in reading and implement a system
of student accountability that
will enable the state to track individual students over
time. Additionally, the department of
elementary and secondary education must provide districts with
rigorous criteria and procedures
for identifying students with learning disabilities and
speech/language impairments. Additional
study is required of factors that influence programming for
students with low incidence
disabilities; those with disabilities that severely compromise
life functions; and programming for
students with disabilities through urban special education.
Alternatives for funding special
education require examination.
(2)
All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish any advice and
information,
documentary and otherwise, to the general assembly and its agents
that is deemed necessary or
desirable by the study to facilitate the purposes of this
section.
SECTION 2. This article shall take effect on July 1, 2010.