| Chapter 201 |
| 2025 -- S 0987 Enacted 06/26/2025 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION -- COUNCIL ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION |
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Gallo, Lawson, and Ciccone |
| Date Introduced: April 16, 2025 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 16-60-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-60 entitled "Council on |
| Elementary and Secondary Education [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of |
| Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 16-60-7. Department of elementary and secondary education — Personnel board. |
| (a) The board of regents shall maintain a department of elementary and secondary |
| education which shall perform the research, administrative, and instructional functions and duties, |
| including technical assistance and statewide educational information services for local school |
| districts, required of the regents by the provisions of this chapter. Within that department the |
| appointment, promotion, salaries, term of service, and dismissal of all professional employees, |
| including instructional and research employees, administrative employees, and secretaries shall be |
| at the pleasure of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education except that the regents |
| shall approve all assistant commissioners; all professional employees, including instructional and |
| research employees, and administrative employees may be initially engaged under contract for not |
| more than two (2) years. All professional employees, including instructional and research |
| employees, and administrative employees shall not be in the classified service of the state nor be |
| subject in any manner of control by the personnel administrator or by any officer or board other |
| than the commissioner of elementary and secondary education; provided, that all permanent |
| appointments of the commissioner to vacant, reestablishreestablished or newly established |
| positions shall be subject to approval by the Emergency Hiring Council established by Executive |
| Order 95-2. All appointments to positions at state operated schools shall be exempt from the |
| preceding requirement provided that total full time equivalent positions are within the authorized |
| cap and all these personnel are assigned exclusively to the schools. The hiring of individuals on a |
| contract basis shall be subject to state purchasing requirements. All non-classified employees of |
| the board of regents who shall have twenty (20) years, not necessarily consecutive, of service credit, |
| these credits having been earned in either the classified, non-classified, or unclassified service or |
| any combination of these, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in their positions as the status |
| is defined by § 36-4-59; provided, that this provision shall not apply to those employees whose |
| base entry date is after August 7, 1996; and provided that this provision shall not apply to faculty |
| employed by the board of regents nor shall it apply to non-classified employees who have acquired |
| tenure as faculty. Employees who had permanent status prior to May 7, 1981, shall continue to |
| retain their status. Persons employed by the department on February 1, 1974, in either the classified |
| or unclassified service and who were receiving longevity payments on or before February 1, 1974, |
| shall continue to be eligible for longevity benefits upon transfer to the non-classified service within |
| the department. |
| (b) The table of organization, as submitted by the commissioner of elementary and |
| secondary education, together with the pay ranges, shall be subject to approval by the board of |
| regents. |
| (c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or interfere with the rights of |
| professional, administrative, and secretarial employees of the department of education to |
| collectively bargain pursuant to chapterschapter 11 of title 36 and chapter 7 of title 28 over all |
| terms and conditions of employment including, but not limited to, salaries, terms of service, and |
| dismissal, or to allow the commissioner or the department to abrogate any agreement reached by |
| collective bargaining. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC002706 |
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