| Chapter 471 |
| 2016 -- S 2022 Enacted 07/13/2016 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION - COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE |
| Introduced By: Senator Roger Picard |
| Date Introduced: January 13, 2016 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 16-2-27 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-2 entitled "School |
| Committees and Superintendents [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of |
| Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 16-2-27. Eligibility for attendance -- Kindergarten. -- Every child who has attained, or |
| will have attained, five (5) years of age on or before September 1 of any school year shall be |
| eligible to attend kindergarten during all the days that the kindergartens are in session during the |
| school year. If a child is enrolled in kindergarten, the attendance requirements of §16-19-1 shall |
| apply. |
| SECTION 2. Section 16-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-19 entitled |
| "Compulsory Attendance [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" |
| is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 16-19-1. Attendance required. -- (a) Every child who has completed, or will have |
| completed, six (6) years of life on or before September 1 of any school year, or is enrolled in |
| kindergarten, and has not completed eighteen (18) years of life, shall regularly attend some public |
| day school during all the days and hours that the public schools are in session in the city or town |
| in which the child resides. Every person having under his or her control a child, as described in |
| this section, shall cause the child to attend school as required by this section, and for every |
| neglect of this duty, the person having control of the child shall be fined not exceeding fifty |
| dollars ($50.00) for each day, or part of a day, that the child fails to attend school, and if the total |
| of these days is more than thirty (30) school days during any school year, then the person shall, |
| upon conviction, be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months or shall be fined not more than five |
| hundred dollars ($500), or both; provided, that if the person so charged shall prove that the child |
| has attended, for the required period of time, a private day school approved by the commissioner |
| of elementary and secondary education pursuant to § 16-60-6(10),; or a course of at-home |
| instruction approved by the school committee of the town where the child resides,; or has been |
| accepted into an accredited post secondary education program,; or has obtained a waiver under |
| subsection (b) of this section,; or that the physical or mental condition of the child was such as to |
| render his or her attendance at school inexpedient or impracticable,; or that the child was |
| excluded from school by virtue of some other general law or regulation, then attendance shall not |
| be obligatory nor shall the penalty be incurred. |
| (b) A waiver to the compulsory attendance requirement may be granted by the |
| superintendent only upon proof that the pupil is sixteen (16) years of age or older and has an |
| alternative learning plan for obtaining either a high school diploma or its equivalent. |
| (1) Alternative-learning plans shall include age-appropriate academic rigor and the |
| flexibility to incorporate the pupil's interests and manner of learning. These plans may include, |
| but are not limited to, such components, or combination of components, of extended learning |
| opportunities as independent study, private instruction, performing groups, internships, |
| community service, apprenticeships, and online courses that are currently funded and available to |
| the school department and/or the community. |
| (2) Alternative-learning plans shall be developed, and amended if necessary, in |
| consultation with the pupil, a school guidance counselor, the school principal, and at least one |
| parent or guardian of the pupil, and submitted to the superintendent for approval. |
| (3) If the superintendent does not approve the alternative-learning plan, the parent or |
| guardian of the pupil may appeal such decision to the school committee. A parent or guardian |
| may appeal the decision of the school committee to the commissioner of education pursuant to |
| chapter 39 of title 16. |
| (c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or otherwise interfere with the rights |
| of teachers and other school employees to collectively bargain pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of |
| title 28 or to allow any school committee to abrogate any agreement reached by collective |
| bargaining. |
| (d) No school shall use a student's truancy or absenteeism as the sole basis for using an |
| out-of-school suspension as a disciplinary action. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC003449 |
| ======== |