2024 -- S 2951

========

LC005830

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX

RELIEF ACT

     

     Introduced By: Senator Melissa A. Murray

     Date Introduced: April 05, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Education

     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). The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available

11

for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school

12

districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year;

13

and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those

14

educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three

15

(3), and five (5) times the core-foundation amount;

16

     (b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements

17

needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education

18

programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher-

 

1

than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies

2

necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state.

3

The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical

4

education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department

5

of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among

6

those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking

7

reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

8

     (c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs.

9

The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood

10

program funds as may be determined by the general assembly;

11

     (d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure

12

that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls

13

is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs.

14

This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside

15

the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation,

16

facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of

17

Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city

18

appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current

19

state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined

20

in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional

21

support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a

22

stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The

23

department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as

24

may be determined by the general assembly;

25

     (e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools.

26

This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of-

27

district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of

28

non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system.

29

The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for

30

distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school

31

districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

32

     (f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This

33

fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students

34

within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires

 

LC005830 - Page 2 of 5

1

that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any

2

federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary

3

education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if

4

the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount

5

of funding available in any fiscal year;

6

     (g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus

7

as set forth below:

8

     (1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school

9

district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional

10

School district;

11

     (2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus

12

shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the

13

regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a

14

regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional

15

School District;

16

     (3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the

17

state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to

18

§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year;

19

     (4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the

20

state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to

21

§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year;

22

     (5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year;

23

     (6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to

24

the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and

25

     (7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available

26

for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for

27

which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of

28

funding appropriated in any fiscal year;

29

     (h) Additional state support for English learners (EL). The amount to support EL students

30

shall be determined by multiplying an EL factor of fifteen percent (15%) by the core-instruction

31

per-pupil amount defined in § 16-7.2-3(a)(1) and applying that amount of additional state support

32

to EL students identified using widely adopted, independent standards and assessments identified

33

by the commissioner. All categorical funds distributed pursuant to this subsection must be used to

34

provide high-quality, research-based services to EL students and managed in accordance with

 

LC005830 - Page 3 of 5

1

requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The

2

department of elementary and secondary education shall collect performance reports from districts

3

and approve the use of funds prior to expenditure. The department of elementary and secondary

4

education shall ensure the funds are aligned to activities that are innovative and expansive and not

5

utilized for activities the district is currently funding;

6

     (i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school

7

resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority

8

who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing

9

assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have

10

completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an

11

accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years,

12

school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct

13

state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools.

14

Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of

15

salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource

16

officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that:

17

     (1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school:

18

     (i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand two hundred (1,200) students shall

19

require one school resource officer;

20

     (ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand two hundred (1,200) or more students shall

21

require two school resource officers;

22

     (2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be

23

eligible for reimbursement; and

24

     (3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new

25

positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and

26

     (j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to

27

the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7.

28

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

========

LC005830

========

 

LC005830 - Page 4 of 5

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX

RELIEF ACT

***

1

     This act would remove the language that requires the department of elementary and

2

secondary education to prorate funds available for distribution among school districts if the total

3

approved costs of sought after reimbursement exceeds the amount of funding appropriated in any

4

fiscal year. This act would also eliminate the funding of the categorical programs pursuant to the

5

transition plan in § 16-7.2-7

6

     This act would take effect upon passage.

========

LC005830

========

 

LC005830 - Page 5 of 5