| Chapter 347 |
| 2022 -- S 2841 Enacted 06/29/2022 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION - SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND SUPERINTENDENTS |
Introduced By: Senator Hanna M. Gallo |
| Date Introduced: April 05, 2022 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 16-2-9 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: |
| 16-2-9. General powers and duties of school committees. |
| (a) Unless the responsibility is otherwise delegated by this chapter, the entire care, control, |
| and management of all public school interests of the several cities and towns shall be vested in the |
| school committees of the several cities and towns. School committees shall have, in addition to |
| those enumerated in this title, the following powers and duties: |
| (1) To identify educational needs in the community. |
| (2) To develop education policies to meet the needs of the community. |
| (3) To provide for and ensure the implementation of federal and state laws, the regulations |
| of the council on elementary and secondary education, and local school policies, programs, and |
| directives. |
| (4) To provide for the evaluation of the performance of the school system. |
| (5) To have responsibility for the care and control of local schools. |
| (6) To have overall policy responsibility for the employment and discipline of school |
| department personnel. |
| (7) To approve a master plan defining goals and objectives of the school system. These |
| goals and objectives shall be expressed in terms of what men and women should know and be able |
| to do as a result of their educational experience. The committee shall periodically evaluate the |
| efforts and results of education in light of these objectives. |
| (8) To provide for the location, care, control, and management of school facilities and |
| equipment. |
| (9) To adopt a school budget to submit to the local appropriating authority. |
| (10) To adopt any changes in the school budget during the course of the school year. |
| (11) To approve expenditures in the absence of a budget, consistent with state law. |
| (12) To employ a superintendent of schools and assign any compensation and other terms |
| and conditions as the school committee and superintendent shall agree, provided that in no event |
| shall the term of employment of the superintendent exceed three (3) years. Nothing contained in |
| this chapter shall be construed as invalidating or impairing a contract of a school committee with a |
| school superintendent in force on May 12, 1978. |
| (13) [Deleted by P.L. 2019, ch. 224, § 2 and P.L. 2019, ch. 259, § 2.] |
| (14) To establish minimum standards for personnel, to adopt personnel policies, and to |
| approve a table of organization. |
| (15) To establish standards for the evaluation of personnel. |
| (16) To establish standards for conduct in the schools and for disciplinary actions. |
| (17) To hear appeals from disciplinary actions. |
| (18) To enter into contracts; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provision |
| of the general or public laws, whether of specific or general application, and notwithstanding the |
| provisions of any charter of any municipality where the school committee is appointed and not |
| elected, but not including, the Central Falls school district board of trustees established by § 16-2- |
| 34, the power and duty to enter into collective bargaining agreements shall be vested in the chief |
| executive officer of the municipality and not in the school committee. |
| (19) To publish policy manuals that shall include all school committee policies. |
| (20) To establish policies governing curriculum, courses of instruction, and text books. |
| (21) To provide for transportation services that meet or exceed standards of the council on |
| elementary and secondary education. |
| (22) To make any reports to the department of education as are required by the council on |
| elementary and secondary education. |
| (23) To delegate, consistent with law, any responsibilities to the superintendent as the |
| committee may deem appropriate. |
| (24) To address the health and wellness of students and employees. |
| (25) To establish a subcommittee of the school board or committee to decrease obesity and |
| address school health and wellness policies for students and employees consistent with § 16-21-28. |
| (26) To annually undertake a minimum of six (6) hours of professional development as set |
| forth and described in § 16-2-5.1. |
| (27) To establish policies governing the implementation of the incorporation of career and |
| technical education programs into the kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) curricula that |
| include knowledge of careers and all types of employment opportunities, including, but not limited |
| to, registered apprenticeships in accordance with chapter 45 of title 28, and emphasizing the |
| advantages of completing school with marketable skills. |
| (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or 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. |
| (c) The elected school committees of each city, town, or regional school district, or the |
| chief executive officer of any municipality having an appointed school committee, shall have the |
| power to bind their successors and successor committees by entering into contracts of employment |
| in the exercise of their governmental functions. |
| (d) Notwithstanding any provisions of the general laws to the contrary, the requirement |
| defined in subsections (d) through (f) of this section shall apply. The school committee of each |
| school district shall be responsible for maintaining a school budget that does not result in a debt. |
| (e) The school committee shall, within thirty (30) days after the close of the first and second |
| quarters of the state's fiscal year, adopt a budget as may be necessary to enable it to operate without |
| incurring a debt, as described in subsection (d). |
| (f) In the event that any obligation, encumbrance, or expenditure by a superintendent of |
| schools or a school committee is in excess of the amount budgeted or that any revenue is less than |
| the amount budgeted, the school committee shall within five (5) working days of its discovery of |
| potential or actual over expenditure or revenue deficiency submit a written statement of the amount |
| of and cause for the over obligation or over expenditure or revenue deficiency to the city or town |
| council president and any other person who by local charter or statute serves as the city or town's |
| executive officer; the statement shall further include a statement of the school committee's plan for |
| corrective actions necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (d). The plan shall be approved |
| by the auditor general and also submitted to the division of municipal finance. |
| (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whether of general or specific application, |
| and notwithstanding any contrary provision of any city or town charter or ordinance, the elected |
| school committee of any city, town, and regional school district shall be, and is hereby authorized |
| to retain, the services of independent legal counsel as it may deem necessary and convenient. Any |
| counsel so retained shall be compensated out of funds duly appropriated to the school committee, |
| and in no event shall the independent counsel be deemed to be an employee of the pertinent city or |
| town for any purpose. |
| SECTION 2. Chapter 16-22 of the General Laws entitled "Curriculum [See Title 16 |
| Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto the |
| following section: |
| 16-22-36 16-22-38. Career and technical education programs. |
| The school committees of the several cities, towns, and school districts shall provide for |
| pupils in the public schools in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) to be taught and be |
| required to study courses which that include instruction in career and technical education programs |
| that include knowledge of careers and all types of employment opportunities, including, but not |
| limited to, registered apprenticeships in accordance with chapter 45 of title 28, and emphasizing |
| the advantages of completing school with marketable skills. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023. |
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| LC004352 |
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