Chapter 124
2010 -- S 2770 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 06/23/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
EDUCATION-- THE EDUCATION ADEQUACY ACT
Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Paiva-Weed, Ruggerio, DiPalma, and Felag
Date Introduced: April 07, 2010
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 16-7-16, 16-7-20, 16-7-22, 16-7-23,
16-7-23.1, 16-7-24, 16-7-39
and 16-7-41 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7 entitled
"Foundation Level School Support" are
hereby amended to read as follows:
16-7-16.
Definitions. -- The following words and phrases
used in sections 16-7-15 to 16-
7-34 have the following meanings:
(1) "Adjusted
equalized weighted assessed valuation" means the equalized weighted
assessed valuation of a community as determined by the
department of revenue or as apportioned
by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of
section 16-7-21;
(2) "Average daily
membership" means the average number of pupils in a community
during a school year as determined pursuant to the
provisions of section 16-7-22, less any
students who are served in a program operated by the state and
funded through the permanent
foundation education aid formula pursuant to chapter 16-7.2 which program is part of the
operations aid formula;
(3) "Basic education
program" means the cost of education of resident pupils in grades
twelve (12) and below in average daily membership for the
reference year as determined by the
mandated minimum program level plus all transportation
costs including school bus monitors;
(4) "Certified
personnel" means all persons who are required to
hold certificates issued
by or under the authority of the board of regents for
elementary and secondary education;
(5)
"Community" means any city, town, or regional school district
established pursuant
to law and/or the department of children, youth, and
families; provided, however, that the
department of children, youth, and families shall not have those
administrative responsibilities
and obligations as set forth in chapter 2 of this title;
provided, however, that the member towns of
the Chariho regional high
school district, created by P.L. 1958, chapter 55 as amended, shall
constitute separate and individual communities for the purpose
of determining and distributing
the foundation level school support including state aid
for noncapital excess expenses for the
special education of children with disabilities provided for
in section 16-24-6 for all grades
financed in whole or in part by the towns irrespective of any
regionalization and any school
operated by the state department of elementary and secondary
education;
(6) "Department of
children, youth, and families" means that department created
pursuant to chapter 72 of title 42. For purposes of this
section, sections 16-7-20, 16-24-2, and 42-
72-5(b)(22),
"children" means those children who are placed, assigned, or
otherwise
accommodated for residence by the department of children, youth,
and families in a state operated
or supported community residence licensed by a state
agency and the residence operates an
educational program approved by the department of elementary and
secondary education;
(7) "Equalized
weighted assessed valuation" means the equalized weighted assessed
valuation for a community as determined by the division of
property valuation pursuant to the
provisions of section 16-7-21;
(8) "Full time
equivalency students" means the time spent in a particular activity
divided
by the amount of time in a normal school day;
(9) "Incentive
entitlement" means the sum payable to a local school district under the
formula used;
(10) "Mandated
minimum program level" means the amount that shall be spent by a
community for every pupil in average daily membership as
determined pursuant to the provisions
of section 16-7-18;
(11) "Reference
year" means the next year prior to the school year immediately
preceding that in which the aid is to be paid; and. For
the purposes of calculating the permanent
foundation education formula aid as described in section
16-7.2-3, the reference date shall be one
year prior to the year in which aid is paid; and
(12) "Regularly
employed" and "service" as applied to certified personnel have
the same
meaning as defined in chapter 16 of this title.
16-7-20.
Determination of state's share. -- (a) For each community the state's share
shall be computed as follows: Let
R = state share ratio
for the community.
v = adjusted equalized
weighted assessed valuation for the community, as defined in
section 16-7-21(3).
V = sum of the values of
v for all communities.
m = average daily
membership of pupils in the community as defined in section 16-7-
22(3).
M = total average daily
membership of pupils in the state.
E = approved
reimbursable expenditures for the community for the reference year minus
the excess costs of special education, tuitions, federal
and state receipts, and other income.
Then the state share
entitlement for the community shall be RE where
R = 1 - 0.5 vM/(Vm) through
June 30, 2011, and R = 1 - 0.475 vM/(Vm) beginning on
July 1, 2011 and thereafter.
Except that in no case
shall R be less than zero percent (0%). This percentage shall be
applied to one hundred percent (100%) of all expenditures
approved by the board of regents for
elementary and secondary education in accordance with currently
existing rules and regulations
for administering state aid, including but not limited to
the setting of appropriate limits for
expenditures eligible for reimbursement; provided, however, that
the costs of special education
required under chapter 24 of this title shall be excluded; and
the costs for regional vocational
school operation and tuition which are funded in chapter 45
of this title for the reference year
1987-1988 and thereafter, shall be excluded.
"Special education costs" mean the costs that are in
excess of the average per pupil expenditure in average daily
membership for the second school
year preceding. The average per pupil expenditure in
average daily membership of those students
receiving special education shall be included in the cost of
the basic program for the reference
year, as "reference year" is defined in section
16-7-16. Expenditures from federal money in lieu
of taxes shall not be counted and, provided further that
the individual communities in the Chariho
regional districts shall each receive the seven and five
hundredths percent (7.05%) for those
grades serviced by the regional school district.
(b) The department of
elementary and secondary education shall base reimbursement on
one hundred percent (100%) of the expenditures for its
state operated schools in accordance with
the reference year provision as defined in section
16-7-16(11). Any funds to supplement the
reimbursement shall be appropriated and included in the department
budget.
(c) This section
shall apply to the School for the Deaf and the
notwithstanding any provisions of this section to the contrary.
(d) (b) Whenever any funds are appropriated for educational
purposes, the funds shall be
used for educational purposes only and all state funds
appropriated for educational purposes must
be used to supplement any and all money allocated by a
city or town for educational purposes and
in no event shall state funds be used to supplant,
directly or indirectly, any money allocated by a
city or town for educational purposes. The courts of this
state shall enforce this section by writ of
mandamus.
(e) (c) Notwithstanding
the calculations in subsection (a), the hospital school at the Hasbro
Children's Hospital shall be reimbursed one hundred
percent (100%) of all expenditures approved
by the board of regents for elementary and secondary
education in accordance with currently
existing rules and regulations for administering state aid,
and subject to annual appropriations by
the general assembly including, but not limited to,
expenditures for educational personnel,
supplies, and materials in the prior fiscal year.
16-7-22.
Determination of average daily membership. -- Each
community shall be
paid pursuant to the provisions of section 16-7-17 an
amount based upon the following
provisions:
(1) On or before
September 1 of each year the average daily membership of each city
and town for the reference year shall be determined by the
commissioner of elementary and
secondary education from data supplied by the school committee
in each community in the
following manner: The aggregate number of days of membership of
all pupils enrolled full time
in grade twelve (12) and below, except that pupils below
grade one who are not full time shall be
counted on a full time equivalent basis: (i)
increased by the aggregate number of days of
membership of pupils residing in the particular city or town
whose tuition in schools approved by
the department of elementary and secondary education in
other cities and towns is paid by the
particular city or town; and (ii) decreased by the aggregate
number of days of membership of
nonresident pupils enrolled in the public schools of the
particular city or town and further
decreased by the aggregate number of days of membership equal
to the number of group home
beds calculated for the purposes of reimbursement pursuant
to section 14-64-1.1; and (iii)
decreased further, in the case of a city or town which is a
member of a regional school district
during the first year of operation of the regional school
district, by the aggregate number of days
of membership of pupils residing in the city or town who
would have attended the public schools
in the regional school district if the regional school
district had been operating during the
previous year, divided by the number of days during which the
schools were officially in session
during the reference year. The resulting figures shall be
the average daily membership for the city
or town for the reference year. For purposes of
calculating the permanent foundation education
aid as described in section 16-7.2-3 (1) and (2), the
average daily membership for school districts
shall exclude charter school and state school students.
(2) The average daily
membership of pupils attending public schools shall apply for the
purposes of determining the percentage of the state's share
under the provisions of sections 16-7-
16(3), 16-7-16(10), 16-7-18, 16-7-19,
16-7-20, and 16-7-21 and 16-7.2-4.
(3) In the case of
regional school districts, the aggregate number of days of membership
by which each city or town is decreased in subdivision
(1)(iii) of this section divided by the
number of days during which the schools attended by the
pupils were officially in session shall
determine the average daily membership for the regional school
district during the first year of
operation. After the first year of operation, the average daily
membership of each regional school
district, except the Chariho
regional high school district, shall be determined by the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education from data supplied
by the school committee of each
regional school district for the reference year in the manner
provided in subdivision (1) of this
section.
16-7-23.
Community requirements -- Adequate minimum budget provision.
-- (a)
The school committee's budget provisions of each
community for current expenditures in each
budget year shall provide for an amount from all sources
sufficient to support the basic program
and all other approved programs shared by the state. Each
community shall contribute local funds
to its school committee in an amount not less than its
local contribution for schools in the
previous fiscal year except to the extent permitted by
section 16-7-23.1. Provided, that for the
fiscal years 2010 and 2011 each community shall contribute
to its school committee in an amount
not less than ninety-five percent (95.0%) of its local
contribution for schools for the fiscal year
2009.
Calculation of the annual local contribution shall not include Medicaid
revenues received
by the municipality or district pursuant to chapter 8 of
title 40. A community which has a
decrease in enrollment may compute maintenance of effort on a
per pupil rather than on an
aggregate basis when determining its local contribution;
furthermore, a community which
experiences a nonrecurring expenditure for its schools may deduct
the nonrecurring expenditure
in computing its maintenance of effort. The deduction of
nonrecurring expenditures shall be with
the approval of the commissioner. The courts of this
state shall enforce this section by writ of
mandamus.
(b) Whenever any state
funds are appropriated for educational purposes, the funds shall
be used for educational purposes only and all state
funds appropriated for educational purposes
must be used to supplement any and all money allocated by
a city or town for educational
purposes and, in no event, shall state funds be used to
supplant, directly or indirectly, any money
allocated by a city or town for educational purposes. All state
funds shall be appropriated by the
municipality to the school committee for educational purposes in
the same fiscal year in which
they are appropriated at the state level even if the
municipality has already adopted a school
budget. All state and local funds unexpended by the end of
the fiscal year of appropriation shall
remain a surplus of the school committee and shall not
revert to the municipality. Any surplus of
state or local funds appropriated for educational purposes
shall not in any respect affect the
requirement that each community contribute local funds in an
amount not less than its local
contribution for schools in the previous fiscal year, subject to
subsection (a) of this section, and
shall not in any event be deducted from the amount of the
local appropriation required to meet the
maintenance of effort provision in any given year.
16-7-23.1. Special
maintenance of effort rules for high local contribution and high
per pupil expenditure communities. -- (a) Any community that
has a local appropriation that
funds at least eighty five percent (85%) of the basic
education program shall be defined as a high
local contribution community. A high local contribution
community that has provided full
funding of the basic education program and all other approved
programs required in law and
regulation is authorized to reduce its local appropriation to
schools by an amount up to ten
percent (10%) of any increase it receives in state school
funds, pursuant to the implementation of
the permanent foundation education aid formula as defined
in section 16-7.2-3.
(b) Any community
that has a local appropriation that combined with state education aid
provides full funding of the basic education program and
exceeds the benchmarks established by
the department of elementary and secondary education for
costs outside the permanent foundation
education aid formula, pursuant to section 16-7.2-3, including
but not limited to transportation,
facility maintenance, and retiree health care, shall be
defined as a high per pupil expenditure
community. A high per pupil expenditure community is authorized
to reduce its local
appropriation to schools by an amount up to ten percent (10%) of
any increase it receives in state
school funds, pursuant to the implementation of the
permanent foundation education aid formula
as defined in section 16-7.2-3.
(c) Upon request of
the local community, and for good cause shown, the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education may grant
variances to subsection (a) and (b) if the
commissioner finds that such adjustment does not disrupt the
continued effective operation of the
public school system of the city or town.
16-7-24.
Minimum appropriation by a community for approved school expenses.
--
Each community shall appropriate or otherwise make available
to the school committee for
approved school expenditures during each school year, to be
expended under the direction and
supervision of the school committee of that community, an amount,
which, together with state
education aid and federal aid: (1) shall be not less than the
costs of the basic program during the
reference year, (2) plus the costs in the reference year of all
optional programs shared by the state;
provided, however, that the state funds provided in accordance
with section 16-5-31 shall not be
used to supplant local funds. The board of regents for
elementary and secondary education shall
adopt regulations for determining the basic education
program and the maintenance of local
appropriation to support the basic education program. A
community that has a local appropriation
insufficient to fund the basic education program pursuant to the
regulations described in this
section and all other approved programs shared by the state
and required in law shall be required
to increase its local appropriation in accordance with
section 44-5-2 or find efficiencies in other
non-education programs to provide sufficient funding to support the
public schools. The city of
16-7.2-6(d).
16-7-39.
Computation of school housing aid ratio. -- For
each community, the percent
of state aid for school housing costs shall be computed
in the following manner:
(1) The adjusted
equalized weighted assessed valuation for the district is divided by the
resident average daily membership for the district (grades
twelve (12) and below); (2) the
adjusted equalized weighted assessed valuation for the state
is divided by the resident average
daily membership for the state (grades twelve (12) and
below); (1) is then divided by (2) and the
resultant ratio is multiplied by a factor currently set at
sixty-two percent (62%) which represents
the approximate average district share of school support;
the resulting product is then subtracted
from one hundred percent (100%) to yield the housing aid
share ratio, provided that in no case
shall the ratio be less than thirty percent (30%). Provided,
that effective July 1, 2010, and
annually at the start of each fiscal year thereafter, the
thirty percent (30%) floor on said housing
aid share shall be increased by five percent (5%)
increments each year until said floor on the
housing aid share ratio reaches a minimum of not less than forty
percent (40%). This provision
shall apply only to school housing projects completed after
June 30, 2010. The resident average
daily membership shall be determined in accordance with
section 16-7-22(1).
16-7-41.
Computation of school housing aid. -- (a) In each fiscal year the state shall pay
to each community a grant to be applied to the cost of
school housing equal to the following:
The cost of each new
school housing project certified to the commissioner of elementary
and secondary education not later than July 15 of the
fiscal year shall be divided by the actual
number of years of the bond issued by the local community or
the Rhode Island Health and
Educational Building Corporation in support of the
specific project, times the school housing aid
ratio; and provided, further, with respect to costs of new
school projects financed with proceeds
of bonds issued by the local community or the Rhode
Island Health and
Corporation in support of the specific project, the
amount of the school housing aid payable in
each fiscal year shall not exceed the amount arrived at by
multiplying the principal and interest of
the bonds payable in each fiscal year by the school
housing aid ratio and which principal and
interest amount over the life of the bonds, shall, in no
event, exceed the costs of each new school
housing project certified to the commissioner of elementary
and secondary education. If a
community fails to specify or identify the appropriate
reimbursement schedule, the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education may at his or her
discretion set up to a five (5) year
reimbursement cycle for projects under five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000); up to ten (10)
years for projects up to three million dollars
($3,000,000); and up to twenty (20) years for
projects over three million dollars ($3,000,000).
(b) Aid shall be
provided for the same period as the life of the bonds issued in support of
the project and at the school housing aid ratio applicable
to the local community at the time of the
bonds issued in support of the project as set forth in
section 16-7-39.
(c) Aid shall be paid
either to the community or in the case of projects financed through
the
Educational Building Corporation or its designee
including, but not limited to, a trustee under a
bond indenture or loan and trust agreement, in support of
bonds issued for specific projects of the
local community in accordance with this section, section
16-7-40 and section 16-7-44.
Notwithstanding the preceding, in case of failure of
any city, town or district to pay the amount
due in support of bonds issued on behalf of a city or
town school project financed by the Rhode
Island Health and Educational Building Corporation,
upon notification by the
Health and Educational Building Corporation, the
general treasurer shall deduct the amount from
aid provided under this section, section 16-7-40 and
section 16-7-44 due the city, town or district
and direct said funding to the Rhode Island Health and
Educational Building Corporation or its
designee.
(d) Notwithstanding any
provisions of law to the contrary, in connection with the
issuance of refunding bonds benefiting any local community,
any net interest savings resulting
from the refunding bonds issued by such community or a
municipal public buildings authority for
the benefit of the community or by the
for the benefit of the community, in each case in support
of school housing projects for the
community, shall be allocated between the community and the
state of
the applicable school housing aid ratio at the time of
issuance of the refunding bonds, calculated
pursuant to section 16-7-39, that would otherwise apply in
connection with school housing
projects of the community. In connection with any such
refunding of bonds, the finance director
or the chief financial officer of the community shall
certify such net interest savings to the
commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
Notwithstanding section 16-7-44 or any
other provision of law to the contrary, school housing
projects costs in connection with any such
refunding bond issue shall include bond issuance costs incurred
by the community, the municipal
public buildings authority or the
case may be, in connection therewith. In connection with
any refunding bond issue, school
housing project costs shall include the cost of interest
payments on such refunding bonds, if the
cost of interest payments was included as a school housing
cost for the bonds being refunded. A
local community or municipal public buildings authority
shall not be entitled to the benefits of
this subsection (d) unless the net present value savings
resulting from the refunding is at least
three percent (3%) of the refunded bond issue.
(e) Any provision of
law to the contrary notwithstanding, the commissioner of
elementary and secondary education shall cause to be monitored
the potential for refunding
outstanding bonds of local communities or municipal public
building authorities or of the Rhode
Island Health and Educational Building Corporation
issued for the benefit of local communities
or municipal public building authorities and benefiting
from any aid referenced in this section. In
the event it is determined by said monitoring that the
net present value savings which could be
achieved by refunding such bonds of the type referenced in the
prior sentence including any
direct costs normally associated with such refundings is equal to (i) at
least one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000) and (ii) for the state and the communities
or public building authorities at least
three percent (3%) of the bond issue to be refunded
including associated costs then, in such event,
the commissioner (or his or her designee) may direct the
local community or municipal public
building authority for the benefit of which the bonds were
issued, to refund such bonds. Failure of
the local community or municipal public buildings
authority to timely refund such bonds, except
due to causes beyond the reasonable control of such local
community or municipal public
building authority, shall result in the reduction by the state
of the aid referenced in this section 16-
7-4.1 associated with the bonds directed to be
refunded in an amount equal to ninety percent
(90%) of the net present value savings reasonably
estimated by the commissioner of elementary
and secondary education (or his or her designee) which
would have been achieved had the bonds
directed to be refunded been refunded by the ninetieth (90th) day
(or if such day is not a business
day in the state of
of the directive of the commissioner (or his or her
designee) to refund such bonds. Such reduction
in the aid shall begin in the fiscal year following the
fiscal year in which the commissioner issued
such directive for the remaining term of the bond.
(f) Payments shall be
made in accordance with section 16-7-40 and this section.
SECTION 2. Section 16-21.1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-21.1 entitled
"Transportation of
follows:
16-21.1-2. School
bus districts established. -- (a) There are
hereby established school
bus districts within the state to provide bus
transportation in the interest of public safety, health,
and welfare for pupils in grades kindergarten through
twelve (12), or in special education
programs, who attend public schools, including vocational
schools and special education
programs provided in accord with regulations of the board of
regents for elementary and
secondary education, consolidated schools, regional schools
established under the provisions of
section 16-3-1 et seq., or who participate in cooperative
programs as provided by section 16-3.1-1
et seq., and nonpublic nonprofit schools which are
consolidated, regionalized, or otherwise
established to serve residents of a specific area within the
state which schools satisfy the
requirements of law for any of the grades of school, kindergarten
through twelve (12), as follows:
(1) Region I: The towns
of Burrillville, North Smithfield, and
of
(2) Region II: The
Foster, Glocester, and
(3) Region III: The
towns of
(4) Region IV: The
(5) Region V: The towns
of Little Compton,
the city of
(b) A pupil attending a
school, including a public school, vocational school, special
education program provided in accord with regulations of the
board of regents for elementary and
secondary education, a regional school established under the
provisions of section 16-3-1 et seq.,
as authorized by section 16-3.1-1 et seq., or a
nonpublic nonprofit school for grades kindergarten
through twelve (12), consolidated, regionalized, or otherwise
established to serve residents of a
specific area within the state for any of the grades of schools,
kindergarten through twelve (12), in
the interest of public safety, health, and welfare, shall
be provided with bus transportation to the
school or facility which the pupil attends, within the
region in which the pupil resides, by the
school committee of the city or town within which the pupil
resides. The cost of transporting a
pupil attending a charter school, the William M. Davies,
Jr. Career and
("Davies"), or the Metropolitan Regional
Career and
the established region shall be charged to the receiving
school at the same grade level
transportation per pupil cost of the resident district. Districts
may offer transportation to charter
schools, Davies, or the
provided there is not additional cost to the resident
district.
SECTION 3. Section 16-45-6 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-45 entitled "Regional
Vocational Schools" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
16-45-6. Powers
additional to previous authority. -- (a) The
powers delegated and
authorized in this chapter for the board of regents for
elementary and secondary education and the
department of elementary and secondary education shall be in
addition to those previously
authorized by any other general or public law.
(b) The governance,
funding, and programming of the William M. Davies, Jr. vocational
technical school and the Metropolitan Career and
the rules and regulations formulated by the board of
regents for elementary and secondary
education pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42. Provided,
however, the additional appropriation by
the General Assembly in fiscal year 2005 for the William
M. Davies, Jr. Vocational Technical
School shall be used to fund sixty (60) additional
placements. Forty (40) of those placements
shall be made available to students from the City of
(c) The purpose of this
chapter is to restructure the system of career and technical
schools in
paramount aim is to enable the schools to make more significant
contributions in providing the
state's students with the career preparation they need to
compete and succeed in the world of
today and of the future. To ensure student success, a
system of model career and technical schools
will be established and supported. These schools will provide:
integrated academic and vocational
curricula, up to date technology, programs to meet the varying
needs of all students, and strong
links to business, industry, postsecondary education, and
the community.
(d) (1) There shall be a system of state operated career and
technical schools serving
geographic areas of the state. Students attending these regional
schools will do so on a full time
basis with the costs for their education at the regional
school fully funded by the state being
shared by the state and the district of residence as
described in section 16-7.2-5. State
schools
currently participating in the state retirement system that are
not receiving reimbursement
pursuant to section 16-16-22 shall have their state aid
adjusted to reflect full reimbursement for
expenses related to employer retirement contributions for
those staff employed by the state.
(2) These schools shall
be operated as local education agencies and each shall be
governed by a board of trustees. With the exception of those
powers and duties reserved by the
director, the commissioner of elementary and secondary
education, and the board of regents for
elementary and secondary education, the board of trustees shall
have the powers and duties of
school committees. The Davies school shall be the first
school operated under the provisions of
this chapter and shall be renamed the William M. Davies,
Jr. career and technical high school.
The Metropolitan Career and
provisions of this chapter.
(e) (1) The board of regents for elementary and secondary education
shall appoint the
members of the board of trustees from nominations made by the
commissioner of elementary and
secondary education. The chairperson shall also be selected in
this manner. The board of regents
shall determine the number, qualifications, and terms of
office of members of the board of
trustees. The board of trustees will be broadly representative
of the local communities served by
each school and the larger statewide workforce interests.
(2) The board of
regents shall establish strategic directions for the career and technical
education system that are consistent with the state's economic
development plans, workforce
requirements, and educational priorities and learner outcomes
established by the board of regents.
(3) The board of
regents shall provide parameters for the overall budget requests,
approve the budget, and participate in budget development as required
in subsection (i).
(f) (1) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall
recommend
parameters for the overall budget requests, recommend a budget
and participate in budget
development as required in subsection (i).
(2) The commissioner
shall approve the process for selection of a director of each
regional school. The commissioner shall develop a plan for
statewide implementation of the
provisions of this chapter.
(g) The board of
trustees shall meet monthly and serve without compensation. Nine (9)
members of the board of trustees shall be required to attend
teacher appeal hearings conducted
pursuant to section 16-13-4. The board of trustees shall have
broad policy making authority for
the operation of the school consistent with subsection
(e) and the following powers and duties:
(1) To identify the
educational needs of the communities in the district.
(2) To develop
educational policies to meet the needs of students in the communities
served by the school district.
(3) To appoint a
director of its regional school to serve as its chief executive officer and
to approve assistant and associate directors from
nominations made by the director.
(4) To provide policy
guidance and participate in budget development as required in
subsection (i).
(5) To develop staffing
policies which ensure that all students are taught by educators of
the highest possible quality.
(h) (1) The director will serve at the pleasure of the board of
trustees with the initial
appointment to be for a period of not more than three (3) years,
provided, that the term and
conditions of employment are subject to the approval of the
board of regents for elementary and
secondary education.
(2) It is the responsibility
of the director to manage and operate the school on a day to
day basis. The director's duties shall include the
following:
(i)
To be responsible for the entire care, supervision, and management of the
career and
technical high school.
(ii) To recommend to
the board of trustees educational policies to meet the needs of the
district, and to implement policies established by the board
of trustees.
(iii) To present nominations
to the board of trustees for assistant and associate directors
and to appoint all other school personnel.
(iv)
To provide for the evaluation of all school district personnel.
(v) To establish a
school based management approach for decision making for the
operation of the school.
(vi)
To prepare a budget and participate in budget development as required in
subsection
(i), and to authorize
purchases consistent with the adopted school district budget.
(vii) To report to the
board of trustees on a regular basis the financial condition and
operation of the school, and to report annually on the
educational progress of the school.
(viii) To establish
appropriate advisory committees as needed to provide guidance on
new directions and feedback on the operation of the
school.
(i)
With policy guidance from the board of trustees and extensive involvement of
the
administrators and faculty in the school, the director of each
regional school shall annually
prepare a budget. The board of trustees will approve the
budget and transmit it to the
commissioner. The board of regents for elementary and secondary
education, upon
recommendation of the commissioner of elementary and secondary
education, shall provide
parameters for the overall budget request. Based on review and
recommendation by the
commissioner, the board of regents shall approve the total budget
and incorporate it into its
budget request to the governor and to the general assembly.
Line item budgeting decisions shall
be the responsibility of the director.
(j) Nothing in this
section shall be deemed to limit or interfere with the rights of teachers
and other school employees to bargain collectively
pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of title 28 or
to allow the board of trustees or the director to
abrogate any agreement by collective bargaining.
Employees at the William M. Davies school shall
continue to be state employees and the
bargaining units which are presently established at the school
shall remain intact.
SECTION 4. Chapter 16-7.2 of the General Laws entitled
"The Education Equity and
Property Tax Relief
Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
16-7.2-3.
Permanent foundation education aid established. -- (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 (a)(1) and the
amount to support high need students in (a)(2), which shall
be multiplied by the district state
share ratio calculated pursuant to section 16-7.2-4 to
determine the foundation aid.
(1) The core
instruction amount shall be an amount equal to a statewide per pupil core
instruction amount as established by the department of elementary
and secondary education,
derived from the average of northeast regional expenditure
data for the states of
Statistics (NCES) that will adequately fund the
student instructional needs as described in the
basic education program and multiplied by the
district average daily membership as defined in
section 16-7-22. Expenditure data in the following categories:
instruction and support services for
students, instruction, general administration, school
administration and other support services
from the National Public Education Financial Survey as
published by NCES and enrollment data
from the Common Core of Data also published by NCES will
be used when determining the core
instruction amount. The core instruction amount will be updated
annually. For the purpose of
calculating this formula, school districts’ resident average
daily membership shall exclude charter
school and state-operated school students.
(2) The amount to
support high need students beyond the core instruction amount shall be
determined by multiplying a student success factor of forty
percent (40%) by the core instruction
per pupil amount described in section 16-7.2-3 (1) and
applying that amount to all resident
children eligible for USDA reimbursable school meals.
(b) LEAs may set aside a portion of funds received under
subsection (a) to expand
learning opportunities such as after school and summer
programs, full day kindergarten and/or
multiple pathway programs provided that the basic education
program and all other approved
programs required in law are funded.
16-7.2-4.
Determination of state's share. -- For each district,
the state's share of the
foundation education aid calculated pursuant to section 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 the state share
ratio for the community calculation
(SSRC), pursuant to section 16-7-20, squared plus the
district’s percentage of students eligible
for USDA reimbursable school meals in grades PK-6
(PK6FRPL) squared, divided by two.
For purposes of
determining the state’s share, school district student data used in this
calculation shall include charter school and state school
students. These ratios are used in the
permanent foundation education aid formula calculation described
in section 16-7.2-5.
16-7.2-5. Charter
public schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical
High School, and the
Metropolitan Regional Career and
public schools defined in chapter 16-77, the William M.
Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High
School (Davies) and the Metropolitan Regional Career
and
shall be funded pursuant to section 16-7.2-3. If the
October 1 actual enrollment data for any
charter public school shows a ten percent (10%) or greater
change from the prior year enrollment
which is used as the reference year average daily
membership, the third and fourth quarter
payments to the charter public school will be adjusted to
reflect actual enrollment. The state
share of the permanent foundation education aid shall be
paid by the state directly to the charter
public schools, Davies, and the
using the state share ratio of the district of residence of
the student as set forth in section 16-7.2-4.
The local share of education funding, as defined by
the department of elementary and secondary
education and approved by the General Assembly, shall be paid
to the charter public school,
Davies, and the
pupil cost calculated by dividing the local appropriation
to education from property taxes net of
debt service and capital projects as defined in the
uniform chart of accounts by the average daily
membership for each city and town, pursuant to section 16-7-22,
for the reference year.
(b) Local district
payments to charter public schools, Davies, and the
district's students enrolled in these schools shall be made on a
quarterly basis in July, October,
January and April; however, the first local district
payment shall be made by August 15 instead of
July. Failure of the community to make the local district
payment for its student(s) enrolled in a
charter public school, Davies, and/or the
education aid pursuant to section 16-7-31.
16-7.2-6.
Categorical programs, state funded expenses. -- In addition to the
foundation
education aid provided pursuant to section 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 education student’s cost shall
be deemed to be "extraordinary."
Extraordinary costs are those educational costs that
exceed the state approved threshold based on
an amount above five times the core foundation amount
(total of core instruction amount plus
student success amount) The department of elementary and
secondary education shall prorate the
funds available for distribution among those eligible
school districts if the total approved costs for
which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the
amount of funding appropriated in
any fiscal year;
(b) Career and
technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements
needed to transform existing or create new comprehensive career
and technical education
programs and career pathways in critical and emerging
industries and to help offset the higher
than average costs associated with facilities, equipment
maintenance and repair, and supplies
necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized
programs that are a priority for the
state. The department shall recommend criteria for the
purpose of allocating any and all career
and technical education funds as may be determined by the
general assembly on an annual basis.
The department of elementary and secondary education
shall prorate the funds available for
distribution among those eligible school districts if the total
approved costs for which school
districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of
funding available in any fiscal year;
(c) Programs to
increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten
programs. The department shall recommend criteria for the
purpose of allocating any and all early
childhood program funds as may be determined by the general
assembly;
(d)
available to support the community, including students from the
community that attend the
charter schools, Davies, and the
regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of
education costs. This fund requires that
the difference between education aid calculated pursuant
to section 16-7.2-3 and education aid, as
of the effective date of the formula, shall be shared
between the state and the city of
The state’s share of the fund will be paid directly to
the
verification that the city has transferred its share of the local
contribution for education. At the
end of the transition period defined in section 16-7.2-7,
the municipality will continue its
contribution pursuant to section 16-7-24; and
(e) Excess costs
associated with transporting students to out of district non-public schools
and within regional school districts. (1) This fund will
provide state funding for the costs
associated with transporting students to out of district
non-public schools, pursuant to title 16,
Chapter 21.1. The state will assume the costs of non-public
out-of-district transportation for those
districts participating in the statewide system; and (2) This
fund will provide direct state funding
for the excess costs associated with transporting
students within regional school districts,
established pursuant to title 16, chapter 3. This fund requires
that the state and regional school
district share equally the student transportation costs net
any federal sources of revenue for these
expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary education
shall prorate the funds
available for distribution among those eligible school
districts if the total approved costs for
which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the
amount of funding available in any
fiscal year.
(f) Public school
districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization
bonus as set forth below.
(1) As used herein,
the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school
district established under the provisions of chapter 16-3
including the
district.
(2) For those
districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus
shall commence in FY2012. For those districts that regionalize
after July 1, 2010, the
regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year
following the establishment of a
regionalized school district as set forth section 16-3, including
the
District.
(3) The regionalization
bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the
regionalized district as calculated pursuant to
sections 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year.
(4) The regionalization
bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the
regionalized district as calculated pursuant to
sections 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year.
(5) The regionalization
bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year.
(6) The
regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school
district shall be applied to
the state share of the permanent foundation education aid
for the member towns.
(7) The department of
elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds
available for distribution among those eligible regionalized
school districts if the total approve
costs for which regionalized school districts are seeking a
regionalization bonus exceed the
amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year.
(g) Categorical
programs defined in (a) through (f) shall be funded pursuant to the
transition plan in section 16-7.2-7.
16-7.2-7.
Transition plan. -- 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 section 16-7.2-3 is more than the education aid
the LEA is receiving as of the
effective date of the formula, and ten (10) years for LEA's for whom the calculated education aid
pursuant to section 16-7.2-3 is less than the education aid
the LEA is receiving as of the effective
date of the formula.
The local share of
funding pursuant to section 16-7.2-5 shall be transitioned
proportionately over a period not to exceed 5 years. The transition
shall provide a combination of
direct aid to districts, funds for the categorical programs,
and district savings through state-
assumed costs, as determined by the general assembly on an
annual basis, Updates to any
components of the permanent foundation education aid formula,
such as student data, property
values, and/or median family income, that result in
an increase or decrease in state education aid
that impacts the total state and local contribution by
more than three percent (3%) shall be
transitioned over a period of time not to exceed three (3) years.
16-7.2-8.
Accountability. -- (a) Pursuant to sections
16-7.1-3 and 16-7.1-5, the
department of elementary and secondary education shall use the
uniform chart of accounts to
maintain fiscal accountability for education expenditures that
comply with applicable laws and
regulations, including but not limited to the basic education
program. This data shall be used to
develop criteria and priorities for cost controls,
efficiencies, and program effectiveness. The
department of elementary and secondary education shall present
this information in the form of
an annual report to the general assembly.
(b) The department of
elementary and secondary education shall establish and/or
implement program standards to be used in the oversight of the
use of foundation aid calculated
pursuant to section 16-7.2-3. Such oversight will be carried
out in accordance with the
progressive support and intervention protocols established in
chapter 7.1 of this title.
16-7.2-9.
Applicability. -- This chapter applies to education
aid for any city, town or
regional school district including the
the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and
Career and
16-7.1-8, 16-7.1-9, 16-7.1-10, 16-7.1-11, 16-7.1-11.1,
16-7.1-12, 16-7.1-15, 16-7.1-16, 16-7.1-17,
16-7.1-18, 16-7.1-19, 16-67-4, and 16-77.1-2 is hereby
suspended effective July 1, 2011, until
further action by the general assembly. Aid under this
chapter will be paid pursuant to section
16-7-17, except that aid to the Central Falls state
operated school district and charter schools,
Davies, and the
installments on the first of each month.
16-7.2-10.
Reporting to the General Assembly. -- 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 supplement the
median family income factor relied
upon in the EWAV variable utilized in the permanent
education aid formula in accordance with
this section; (b) An analysis of the feasibility,
alternative financing mechanisms, and impact of
the
impact of the financing of charter schools and vocational
schools, pursuant to this section, on
local school districts.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02294/SUB A/3
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