Chapter 414 |
2025 -- H 5165 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 07/02/2025 |
A N A C T |
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS |
Introduced By: Representatives Cotter, Noret, Read, McNamara, Potter, Solomon, Casimiro, Spears, Carson, and Kennedy |
Date Introduced: January 24, 2025 |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
SECTION 1. Section 16-53.1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-53.1 entitled "Rhode |
Island School Improvement Team Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
16-53.1-2. Establishment of school improvement teams. |
(a)(1) The school board or school committees of the cities and towns shall establish a |
school improvement team for each school in the district, and shall develop procedures for the |
election and appointment of school improvement team members. Each school improvement team |
shall be composed of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, education |
support employees, students, parents, and other business and community citizens who are |
representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school, provided that |
vocational-technical center and high school school-improvement teams shall include students, and |
middle and junior high school school-improvement teams may include students. Members |
representing teachers, education support employees, students, and parents shall be selected by their |
peer groups at the school in a fair and equitable manner. At the middle and high school levels, |
where there are designated department heads, those department heads will also be included on the |
school improvement team. At a minimum, these school improvement teams at this middle and high |
school level shall include at least one department head from a humanities subject area and at least |
one department head from one of the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics subject |
areas. |
(2) Business and other community members shall be selected by the school according to a |
procedure established by the school board. The school board shall review the membership |
composition of each school improvement team. Should the school board determine that the |
membership elected by the school is not representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic |
community served by the school, the board shall appoint additional members to achieve proper |
representation. For the purposes of school improvement teams, the term “teacher” includes |
classroom teachers, certified student services personnel, and media specialists. For purposes of this |
subsection, “education support employee” means any person employed by a school who is not |
defined as instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to law and whose duties require |
twenty (20) or more hours in each normal working week. |
(3) The school board or school committees of the cities and towns shall establish a |
districtwide student safety and behavioral health committee ("SSBHC"). Each committee shall |
have representation from administration (to be appointed by the superintendent), at least two (2) |
certified staff (to be appointed by the local collective bargaining agent), and at least two (2) support |
staff (to be appointed by the local collective bargaining agent), and may also include a school |
resource officer to be appointed by the superintendent. The school board or school committee shall |
strive to have staff representation from the elementary, middle, and high school level on the |
SSBHC. The SSBHC shall be responsible for: |
(i) Ensuring that the district has a comprehensive policy to provide mental health support |
to students in need and address student behaviors to minimize disruptions of the learning |
environment for all students in a non-punitive manner, in line with best practice and student needs; |
(ii) Ensuring such policies are properly implemented; |
(iii) Assessing the mental health supports available to students; |
(iv) Discussing possible improvements to policies and procedures; |
(v) Making recommendations to the school board or school committee regarding potential |
policy changes; and |
(vi) Providing an annual report to the school board or school committee on student safety, |
mental health, and behaviors, including any recommendations to improve student safety and |
outcomes in a non-punitive manner while ensuring a stable learning environment for all students. |
The SSBHC shall work with the school improvement teams to improve student safety and |
behavioral outcomes at the school building level, but shall not have access to any personally |
identifiable student information. |
(b) The school board may establish a district school improvement team representative of |
the district and composed of teachers, students, parents, and other citizens or a district school |
improvement team which may be comprised of representatives of each school improvement team. |
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC000761/SUB A |
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