2024 -- S 2162 | |
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LC003581 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX | |
RELIEF ACT | |
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Introduced By: Senators Ujifusa, Pearson, DiPalma, Bell, Gu, Burke, Picard, Kallman, | |
Date Introduced: January 24, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Finance | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The |
2 | Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. |
4 | In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent |
5 | foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for: |
6 | (a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when |
7 | an individual special education student’s cost shall be deemed to be “extraordinary.” Extraordinary |
8 | costs are those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount |
9 | above four times the core foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success |
10 | amount).; provided, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2026 are educational costs that exceed |
11 | the state-approved threshold based on an amount above three and one-half times (3 ½) the core |
12 | foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success amount); and provided |
13 | further, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2027 are educational costs that exceed the state- |
14 | approved threshold based on an amount above three (3) times the core foundation amount (total of |
15 | core-instruction amount plus student success amount). The department of elementary and |
16 | secondary education shall prorate the appropriate funds available for distribution among those |
17 | eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking |
18 | reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year and shall also |
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1 | appropriate funds in the following fiscal year for approved excess costs associated with special |
2 | education students who move into a district after a district has approved its district fiscal year |
3 | budget; and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those |
4 | educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three |
5 | (3), and five (5) times the core-foundation amount; |
6 | (b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements |
7 | needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education |
8 | programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher- |
9 | than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies |
10 | necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. |
11 | The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical |
12 | education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department |
13 | of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among |
14 | those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking |
15 | reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; |
16 | (c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. |
17 | The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood |
18 | program funds as may be determined by the general assembly; |
19 | (d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure |
20 | that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls |
21 | is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. |
22 | This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside |
23 | the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, |
24 | facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of |
25 | Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city |
26 | appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current |
27 | state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined |
28 | in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional |
29 | support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a |
30 | stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The |
31 | department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as |
32 | may be determined by the general assembly; |
33 | (e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. |
34 | This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of- |
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1 | district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of |
2 | non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. |
3 | The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for |
4 | distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school |
5 | districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; |
6 | (f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This |
7 | fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students |
8 | within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires |
9 | that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any |
10 | federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary |
11 | education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if |
12 | the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount |
13 | of funding available in any fiscal year; |
14 | (g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus |
15 | as set forth below: |
16 | (1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school |
17 | district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional |
18 | School district; |
19 | (2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus |
20 | shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the |
21 | regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a |
22 | regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional |
23 | School District; |
24 | (3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the |
25 | state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to |
26 | §§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; |
27 | (4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the |
28 | state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to |
29 | §§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; |
30 | (5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year; |
31 | (6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to |
32 | the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and |
33 | (7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available |
34 | for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for |
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1 | which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of |
2 | funding appropriated in any fiscal year; |
3 | (h) Additional state support for English learners (EL). The amount to support EL students |
4 | shall be determined by multiplying an EL factor of fifteen percent (15%) by the core-instruction |
5 | per-pupil amount defined in § 16-7.2-3(a)(1) and applying that amount of additional state support |
6 | to EL students identified using widely adopted, independent standards and assessments identified |
7 | by the commissioner. All categorical funds distributed pursuant to this subsection must be used to |
8 | provide high-quality, research-based services to EL students and managed in accordance with |
9 | requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The |
10 | department of elementary and secondary education shall collect performance reports from districts |
11 | and approve the use of funds prior to expenditure. The department of elementary and secondary |
12 | education shall ensure the funds are aligned to activities that are innovative and expansive and not |
13 | utilized for activities the district is currently funding; |
14 | (i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school |
15 | resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority |
16 | who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing |
17 | assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have |
18 | completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an |
19 | accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, |
20 | school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct |
21 | state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. |
22 | Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of |
23 | salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource |
24 | officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that: |
25 | (1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school: |
26 | (i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand two hundred (1,200) students shall |
27 | require one school resource officer; |
28 | (ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand two hundred (1,200) or more students shall |
29 | require two school resource officers; |
30 | (2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be |
31 | eligible for reimbursement; and |
32 | (3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new |
33 | positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and |
34 | (j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to |
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1 | the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. |
2 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX | |
RELIEF ACT | |
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1 | This act would amend the calculation of state funding provided to local education agencies |
2 | for special education services. The act would revise the calculation of extraordinary special |
3 | education costs in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, and would also provide additional funds for excess |
4 | costs for special education students who move into a district after a district has approved its fiscal |
5 | year budget. |
6 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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