2025 -- H 5292

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LC001073

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- REGIONAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

     Introduced By: Representatives Fellela, Serpa, Read, and Phillips

     Date Introduced: February 05, 2025

     Referred To: House Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-45-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-45 entitled "Regional

Vocational Schools [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is

hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-45-6.1. Career and technical education.

     (a) The general assembly finds that career and technical education (“CTE”) programs that

meet the CTE board of trustees’ industry developed standards prepare Rhode Island’s students to

succeed in a wide variety of employment settings are a critical component of the state’s public

education system and a necessary element of the state’s economic development. CTE programs

that meet the CTE board of trustees’ standards are located in the regional career and technical

education centers and comprehensive high schools and are helping students graduate high school

with the skills to secure a job with a family-sustaining wage.

     (b) The general assembly further finds that the proportion of students now enrolled in such

programs is inadequate to meet the needs of Rhode Island’s growing economy. Rhode Island’s

employers are best positioned to assist in establishing a high-quality system of secondary and

postsecondary career and technical education. To assist in the development of a high-quality system

of CTE, the CTE board of trustees shall review and annually provide recommendations to the board

of education regarding issues impacting secondary and postsecondary career and technical

education, including, but not limited to, program quality, industry alignment, the effective use of

state and federal CTE funding, the allocation of CTE funding, and expenditures of CTE funding,

program outcomes, work-based learning, transportation, and graduation requirements. The report

and recommendations shall be provided to the board of education no later than October 15 of each

year.

     (c) [Deleted by P.L. 2021, ch. 278, § 1 and P.L. 2021, ch. 279, § 1.]

     (d)(1) To sustain and advance the economic development of our communities, all students

retain the right to enroll in a state approved career and technical education program approved by

the CTE board of trustees in communities outside their community of residence. This right does

not apply to locally developed CTE programs, locally approved CTE programs, pathway programs,

or other programs that are not approved by the CTE board of trustees. Students shall have a right

to request enrollment and to enroll in a CTE board of trustees’ approved program outside of their

community of residence when a substantially similar or same (“substantially similar”) CTE board

of trustees approved program is not offered within their community of residence.

     (2) In determining whether two programs are substantially similar, the CTE board of

trustees shall consider the following factors:

     (i) Program type;

     (ii) Information on the occupation that the student will be prepared for;

     (iii) The credentials the student will earn;

     (iv) The type of work-based learning that the student will be provided access to;

     (v) The ability to access advanced course experiences; and

     (vi) Such additional factors as the CTE board of trustees deem to be relevant, including

postsecondary attainment, industry partnerships and advisory boards, and program quality.

     (3) Effective January 15, 2022, and every year thereafter, the CTE board of trustees and

the department of elementary and secondary education shall publish a detailed list of substantially

similar CTE programs for the upcoming school year. The list will be used to support students and

their families in accessing CTE board of trustees approved career and technical education

programs. There will be a thirty-day (30) period for schools and districts to appeal the substantially

similar designation to the board of education.

     (4) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program

(the “program of choice”) prior to January 1, 2022, which program is outside of their home district

but is considered to be substantially similar to a program in their home district, shall be allowed to

remain enrolled in that program of choice as set forth in subsection (j) of this section.

     (e) Students may request access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs

outside their school district if their home district does not provide a substantially similar state-

approved CTE program. If a discrepancy exists as to whether two (2) state-approved programs are

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substantially similar, the state CTE board shall use state CTE board program quality criteria set

forth in subsection (d) of this section to determine if the two (2) state CTE board-approved

programs are substantially similar programs. The decision of the CTE board shall be final.

     (f)(1) A student’s request to enroll in an out of district state CTE board-approved career

and technical program shall not be denied, provided that:

     (i) A substantially similar program is not available in the student’s home district;

     (ii) The student meets any other criteria required of all students for admission to the out of

district program and the center; and

     (iii) When there is more than one recognized CTE program in a transportation region, the

student is applying to the center that is geographically the closest program to the student’s

residence.

     (g)(1) Students requesting access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs

outside their established school transportation region may enroll in such programs that are not

substantially similar to a program in their home district. In such event, with respect to transportation

costs, the resident’s local education agency shall only be responsible for paying the resident

district’s average per pupil expenditure for student transportation for all students in the district. The

receiving district shall pay any remaining balance due for transportation costs associated with the

particular student.

     (2) The sending district shall pay the average of the per-pupil expenditure of the receiving

district and sending district when paying out-of-district tuitions for students in CTE programs.

     (3) When two or more substantially similar programs are available within a student’s

transportation district, that student may enroll in the program that is not geographically closest only

if the receiving district agrees to pay all the transportation costs to and from the receiving district.

     (h) All eligible CTE programs shall align to CTE board of trustees’ program standards.

Programs that do not meet this standard shall not be eligible to enroll out-of-district students and

receive state or federal CTE funding.

     (i) All state CTE board-approved programs shall align to industry standards or be

associated with a nationally recognized CTE board-approved program.

     (j) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program of

choice outside of the students’ home district as of January 1, 2022, shall be exempt from the

substantially similar provisions of this section and may continue to matriculate in grades nine (9)

through twelve (12) in their program of choice so that students and parents who made educational

decisions prior to January 1, 2022, shall retain the rights that were in place when they made those

decisions. If a substantially similar state-approved program is established in a student’s home

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district after the student has enrolled in a program of choice, the student may continue to matriculate

in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) in the student’s program of choice provided the student

remains enrolled in the program. The sending district may request, and shall be provided by the

district with the chosen CTE program, information on the students’ progress in programs, including

attendance and grades. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply and extend to other

siblings in the family who apply to attend the same program of choice.

     (k) Career and technical funds allocated under § 16-7.2-6 shall be used solely for the

purpose of funding improvements to state CTE board-approved career and technical education

programs and facilities or for funding related to the establishment of new career and technical

programs in our state.

     (l) The limitations related to enrollment in CTE programs contained within this chapter

shall not apply to the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies,

Jr. Career and Technical High School. All eligible students, from any and all Rhode Island cities

and towns, have the right to pursue enrollment and enroll in, subject to applicable enrollment

procedures, the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies, Jr.

Career and Technical High School’s programs.

     (m) Provided, effective July 1, 2025, any data collection and reporting for individual

students, that is required as part of the basic education program regulations data collection

including, but not limited to, data required pursuant to the provisions of chapter 7 and 7.2 of title

16, shall be the responsibility of the school district, wherein the student is attending and enrolled

in a career and technical education program, sometimes colloquially referred to as the "receiving

district," and not the responsibility of what is sometimes known as the student's "sending district."

     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 -- REGIONAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

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     This act would require that the basic education program data collection information for

students that attend career and technical education schools be charged to the receiving school

district and not the sending school district.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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