20242024 -- S 2286 | |
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LC004904 | |
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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 Bissaillon, Pearson, and Gallo | |
Date Introduced: February 12, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Education | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-5 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 | 16-7.2-5. Charter public schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical |
4 | High School, and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center. |
5 | (a) Charter public schools, as defined in chapter 77 of this title, the William M. Davies, Jr. |
6 | Career and Technical High School (Davies), and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical |
7 | Center (the Met Center) shall be funded pursuant to § 16-7.2-3. If the October 1 actual enrollment |
8 | data for any charter public school shows a ten percent (10%) or greater change from the prior year |
9 | enrollment that is used as the reference year average daily membership, the last six (6) monthly |
10 | payments to the charter public school will be adjusted to reflect actual enrollment. The state share |
11 | of the permanent foundation education aid shall be paid by the state directly to the charter public |
12 | schools, Davies, and the Met Center pursuant to § 16-7.2-9 and shall be calculated using the state- |
13 | share ratio of the district of residence of the student as set forth in § 16-7.2-4. The department of |
14 | elementary and secondary education shall provide the general assembly with the calculation of the |
15 | state share of permanent foundation education aid for charter public schools delineated by school |
16 | district. |
17 | (b) The local share of education funding shall be paid to the charter public school, Davies, |
18 | and the Met Center by the district of residence of the student and shall be the local, per-pupil cost |
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1 | calculated by dividing the local appropriation to education from property taxes, net of debt service, |
2 | and capital projects, as defined in the uniform chart of accounts by the average daily membership |
3 | for each city and town, pursuant to § 16-7-22, for the reference year. |
4 | (c) In any fiscal year, no school district's total charter school expenses, defined as the sum |
5 | of tuitions and state education aid paid to charter schools for students from that district, shall exceed |
6 | nine percent (9%) of the district's adopted budget; however, if a school or school district is under |
7 | state control pursuant to § 16-7.1-5, the school district's total charter school expense may exceed |
8 | nine percent (9%) of the district's adopted budget; provided that, it shall not exceed twenty-three |
9 | percent (23%). If in FY 2024 and any subsequent fiscal year, any district's total charter school |
10 | expenses would exceed the nine percent (9%) or twenty-three percent (23%) caps prescribed in this |
11 | subsection, no enrollments shall be allowed from that district to charter schools in excess of the |
12 | total charter school percent caps in this subsection or the district’s prior fiscal year percentage, |
13 | whichever is greater. |
14 | (c)(d) Beginning in FY 2017, there shall be a reduction to the local per-pupil funding paid |
15 | by the district of residence to charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center. This reduction |
16 | shall be equal to the greater (i) Of seven percent (7%) of the local, per-pupil funding of the district |
17 | of residence pursuant to subsection (b) or (ii) The per-pupil value of the district’s costs for non- |
18 | public textbooks, transportation for non-public students, retiree health benefits, out-of-district |
19 | special-education tuition and transportation, services for students age eighteen (18) to twenty-one |
20 | (21) years old, pre-school screening and intervention, and career and technical education, tuition |
21 | and transportation costs, debt service and rental costs minus the average expenses incurred by |
22 | charter schools for those same categories of expenses as reported in the uniform chart of accounts |
23 | for the prior preceding fiscal year pursuant to § 16-7-16(11) and verified by the department of |
24 | elementary and secondary education. In the case where audited financials result in a change in the |
25 | calculation after the first tuition payment is made, the remaining payments shall be based on the |
26 | most recent audited data. For those districts whose greater reduction occurs under the calculation |
27 | of (ii), there shall be an additional reduction to payments to mayoral academies with teachers who |
28 | do not participate in the state teacher’s retirement system under chapter 8 of title 36 equal to the |
29 | per-pupil value of teacher retirement costs attributable to unfunded liability as calculated by the |
30 | state’s actuary for the prior preceding fiscal year. |
31 | (d)(e) Local district payments to charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center for |
32 | each district’s students enrolled in these schools shall be made on a quarterly basis in July, October, |
33 | January, and April; however, the first local-district payment shall be made by August 15, instead |
34 | of July. Failure of the community to make the local-district payment for its student(s) enrolled in a |
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1 | charter public school, Davies, and/or the Met Center may result in the withholding of state |
2 | education aid pursuant to § 16-7-31. |
3 | (e)(g) Beginning in FY 2017, school districts with charter public school, Davies, and the |
4 | Met Center enrollment, that, combined, comprise five percent (5%) or more of the average daily |
5 | membership as defined in § 16-7-22, shall receive additional aid for a period of three (3) years. Aid |
6 | in FY 2017 shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies, |
7 | or the Met Center students as of the reference year as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount |
8 | of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175). Aid in FY 2018 shall be equal to the number of charter |
9 | public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies, or the Met Center students as of the reference year |
10 | as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount of one hundred dollars ($100). Aid in FY 2019 |
11 | shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open-enrollment schools, Davies, or the Met |
12 | Center students as of the reference year as defined in § 16-7-16 times a per-pupil amount of fifty |
13 | dollars ($50.00). The additional aid shall be used to offset the adjusted fixed costs retained by the |
14 | districts of residence. |
15 | (f) [Deleted by P.L. 2023, ch. 79, art. 8, § 2.] |
16 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2024. |
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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 provide limitations and prescribe caps on a district's total charter school |
2 | expenses. The act would provide that a school district's budget for charter schools is not to exceed |
3 | nine percent (9%) of the school district's budget unless the school district is under state control and |
4 | then the school district's budget for charter schools would not exceed twenty-three percent (23%). |
5 | This act would take effect on July 1, 2024. |
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LC004904 | |
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