| Chapter 278 |
| 2021 -- H 5836 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 07/09/2021 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION -- REGIONAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS (SEE TITLE 16 CHAPTER 97 -- THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT) |
Introduced By: Representatives Shanley, McNamara, Shekarchi, Solomon, Bennett, Vella-Wilkinson, Barros, and Amore |
| Date Introduced: February 24, 2021 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 16-45-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-45 entitled "Regional |
| Vocational Schools [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby |
| amended to read as follows: |
| 16-45-6.1. Career and technical education. |
| (a) The general assembly finds that career and technical education ("CTE") programs that |
| meet rigorous the CTE board of trustees' industry developed standards and prepare Rhode Island's |
| students to succeed in a wide variety of employment settings are a critical component of the state's |
| public education system and a necessary element of the state's economic development. CTE |
| programs that meet the CTE board of trustees' standards are located in the regional career and |
| technical education centers and comprehensive high schools and are helping students graduate high |
| school with the skills to secure a job with a family-sustaining wage. |
| (b) The general assembly further finds that the proportion of students now enrolled in such |
| programs is inadequate. Therefore, all Rhode Island school districts shall file a plan with the |
| Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education no later than January 1, 2006 setting forth |
| the means through which no fewer than forty (40) percent of their students enrolled in grades nine |
| (9) through twelve (12) shall be provided the opportunity to enroll in career and technical |
| programming that is certified by the Rhode Island Department of Education as meeting industry |
| standards by September 2007. to meet the needs of Rhode Island's growing economy. Rhode |
| Island's employers are best positioned to assist in establishing a high-quality system of secondary |
| and postsecondary career and technical education. To assist in the development of a high-quality |
| system of CTE, the CTE board of trustees shall review and annually provide recommendations to |
| the board of education regarding issues impacting secondary and postsecondary career and |
| technical education, including, but not limited to, program quality, industry alignment, the effective |
| use of state and federal CTE funding, the allocation of CTE funding, and expenditures of CTE |
| funding, program outcomes, work-based learning, transportation, and graduation requirements. The |
| report and recommendations shall be provided to the board of education no later than October 15 |
| of each year. |
| (c) To facilitate the development of additional career and technical program offerings for |
| Rhode Island students that meet industry standards the department of elementary and secondary |
| education shall, in furtherance of the reports and studies that have been developed since 2000 |
| setting forth recommendations for an updated system of career and technical education for the State |
| of Rhode Island, develop a system design that includes site assessments of all current career and |
| technical programs and sets forth standards and procedures for the department of elementary and |
| secondary education to approve programs that are developed in cooperation with business, industry |
| and postsecondary institutions. The department shall also develop a system design for three |
| additional state operated career and technical schools, in addition to the William H. Davies School |
| and the Metropolitan Career and Technical Center, including recommendations for a model for the |
| siting, building costs, operational costs and program design for each such school. The general |
| assembly shall appropriate funds to the department for purposes of their completion of the system |
| design for the statewide program approval process to industry standards and the development of |
| the models, siting and program design of the three additional state operated career and technical |
| schools. |
| (d)(1) To sustain and advance the economic development of our communities, all students |
| retain the right to enroll in a state approved career and technical education program approved by |
| the CTE board of trustees in communities outside their community of residence. This right does |
| not apply to locally developed CTE programs, locally approved CTE programs, pathway programs, |
| or other programs that are not approved by the CTE board of trustees. Students shall have a right |
| to request enrollment and to enroll in a CTE board of trustees' approved program outside of their |
| community of residence when a substantially similar or same ("substantially similar") CTE board |
| of trustees approved program is not offered within their community of residence. |
| (2) In determining whether two programs are substantially similar, the CTE board of |
| trustees shall consider the following factors: |
| (i) Program type; |
| (ii) Information on the occupation that the student will be prepared for; |
| (iii) The credentials the student will earn; |
| (iv) The type of work-based learning that the student will be provided access to; |
| (v) The ability to access advanced course experiences; and |
| (vi) Such additional factors as the CTE board of trustees deem to be relevant, including |
| postsecondary attainment, industry partnerships and advisory boards, and program quality. |
| (3) Effective January 15, 2022, and every year thereafter, the CTE board of trustees and |
| the department of elementary and secondary education shall publish a detailed list of substantially |
| similar CTE programs for the upcoming school year. The list will be used to support students and |
| their families in accessing CTE board of trustees approved career and technical education |
| programs. There will be a thirty-(30) day (30) period for schools and districts to appeal the |
| substantially similar designation to the board of education. |
| (4) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program |
| (the "program of choice") prior to January 1, 2022, which program is outside of their home district |
| but which is considered to be substantially similar to a program in their home district, shall be |
| allowed to remain enrolled in that program of choice as set forth in subsection (j) of this section. |
| (e) Students may request access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs |
| outside their school district if their home district does not provide a substantially similar state- |
| approved CTE program. If a discrepancy exists as to whether two (2) state-approved programs are |
| substantially similar, the state CTE board shall use state CTE board program quality criteria set |
| forth in subsection (d) of this section to determine if the two (2) state CTE board-approved |
| programs are substantially similar programs. The decision of the CTE board shall be final. |
| (f)(1) A student's request to enroll in an out of district state CTE board-approved career |
| and technical program shall not be denied, provided that: |
| (i) A substantially similar program is not available in the student's home district; |
| (ii) The student meets any other criteria required of all students for admission to the out of |
| district program and the center; and |
| (iii) When there is more than one recognized CTE program in a transportation region, the |
| student is applying to the center which that is geographically the closest program to the student's |
| residence. |
| (g)(1) Students requesting access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs |
| outside their established school transportation region may enroll in such programs which that are |
| not substantially similar to a program in their home district. In such event, with respect to |
| transportation costs, the resident's local education agency shall only be responsible for paying the |
| resident district's average per pupil expenditure for student transportation for all students in the |
| district. The receiving district shall pay any remaining balance due for transportation costs |
| associated with the particular student. |
| (2) The sending district shall pay the average of the per-pupil expenditure of the receiving |
| district and sending district when paying out-of-district tuitions for students in CTE programs. |
| (3) When two or more substantially similar programs are available within a student's |
| transportation district, that student may enroll in the program that is not geographically closest only |
| if the receiving district agrees to pay all the transportation costs to and from the receiving district. |
| (h) All eligible CTE programs shall align to CTE board of trustees' program standards. |
| Programs that do not meet this standard shall not be eligible to enroll out-of-district students and |
| receive state or federal CTE funding. |
| (i) All state CTE board-approved programs shall align to industry standards or be |
| associated with a nationally recognized CTE board-approved program. |
| (j) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program of |
| choice outside of the students' home district as of January 1, 2022, shall be exempt from the |
| substantially similar provisions of this section and may continue to matriculate in grades nine (9) |
| through twelve (12) in their program of choice so that students and parents who made educational |
| decisions prior to January 1, 2022, shall retain the rights that were in place when they made those |
| decisions. If a substantially similar state-approved program is established in a student's home |
| district after the student has enrolled in a program of choice, the student may continue to matriculate |
| in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) in the student's program of choice provided the student |
| remains enrolled in the program. The sending district may request, and shall be provided by the |
| district with the chosen CTE program, information on the students' progress in programs, including |
| attendance and grades. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply and extend to other |
| siblings in the family who apply to attend the same program of choice. |
| (k) Career and technical funds allocated under ยง 16-7.2-6 shall be used solely for the |
| purpose of funding improvements to state CTE board-approved career and technical education |
| programs and facilities or for funding related to the establishment of new career and technical |
| programs in our state. |
| (l) The limitations related to enrollment in CTE programs contained within this chapter |
| shall not apply to the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies, |
| Jr. Career and Technical High School. All eligible students, from any and all Rhode Island cities |
| and towns, have the right to pursue enrollment and enroll in, subject to applicable enrollment |
| procedures, the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies, Jr. |
| Career and Technical High School's programs. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001824/SUB A/2 |
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