2026 -- S 2934

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LC005293

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

     RELATING TO EDUCATION -- FOUNDATION LEVEL SCHOOL SUPPORT

     Introduced By: Senator Samuel D. Zurier

     Date Introduced: March 04, 2026

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-7-29 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7 entitled "Foundation

Level School Support [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is

hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-7-29. Minimum salary schedule.

     (a) Every Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, every municipality and

regional school district shall establish and put into full effect by appropriate action of its school

committee in a municipality or regional school district where the school committee is elected, or

by appropriate action of the chief executive officer, in a municipality where the school committee

is appointed, a salary schedule recognizing years of service, experience, and training for all certified

personnel regularly employed in the public schools and having no more than twelve (12) annual

steps. The term “school year” as applied to the salary schedule means the ten (10) calendar months

beginning in September and ending the following June.

     (b) In the Providence public school district only, the parties may negotiate alternative salary

schedules that do not include the provisions of section (a) of this section, and which may include

other bases for increased compensation including, but not limited to, bonuses for teachers willing

to take on greater responsibilities.

     (b)(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a freeze or reduction of the monetary value of

the steps in the salary schedule through the collective bargaining process.

     SECTION 2. Sections 16-13-4 and 16-13-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-13 entitled

"Teachers’ Tenure" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-13-4. Statement of cause for dismissal — Hearing — Appeals — Arbitration.

     (a)(1) For districts other than Providence pubic school district, the The statement of cause

for dismissal shall be given to the teacher, in writing, by the governing body of the schools. The

teacher may, within fifteen (15) days of the notification, request, in writing, a hearing before the

school committee or school board. The hearing shall be public or private, in the discretion of the

teacher. Both teacher and school board shall be entitled to be represented by counsel and to present

witnesses. The board shall keep a complete record of the hearing and shall furnish the teacher with

a copy. Any teacher aggrieved by the decision of the school board shall have the right of appeal to

the department of elementary and secondary education and shall have the right of further appeal to

the superior court. Any decisions rendered must be approved by a majority of the full board.

Members voting on a decision must have been in attendance at the hearing.

     (2)(i) For the Providence public school district, a principal may dismiss or demote any

teacher or other person assigned full-time to the school, subject to the review and approval of the

superintendent; and subject to the provisions of this section, the superintendent may dismiss any

employee of the school district. In the vase of employees whose duties require them to be assigned

to more than one school, and in the case of teachers who teach in more than one school, those

persons shall be considered to be under the supervision of the superintendent for all decisions

relating to dismissal or demotion for cause.

     (ii) Teachers who have been teaching in a school system for at least ninety (90) calendar

days shall not be dismissed unless they have been furnished with written notice of intent to dismiss

and with an explanation of the grounds for dismissal in sufficient detail to permit the teachers to

respond and documents relating to the grounds for dismissal, and, if they so request, have been

given a reasonable opportunity within ten (10) school days after receiving such written notice to

review the decision with the principal or superintendent, as the case may be, and to present

information pertaining to the basis for the decision and to the teacher’s status. The teachers

receiving such notice may be represented by an attorney or other representative at such meeting

with the principal or superintendent. Teachers without professional teacher status shall otherwise

be deemed employees at will.

     (iii) A teacher with tenure shall not be dismissed except for inefficiency, incompetency,

incapacity, conduct unbecoming a teacher, insubordination or failure on the part of the teacher to

satisfy teacher performance standards developed pursuant to chapter 38 of this title or other just

cause.

     (iv) A teacher with tenure status may seek review of a dismissal decision within thirty (30)

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days after receiving notice of their dismissal by filing a petition for arbitration with the

commissioner. The commissioner shall forward to the parties a list of three (3) arbitrators provided

by the American Arbitration Association. Each person on the list shall be accredited by the national

Academy of Arbitrators. The parties each shall have the right to strike one of the three (3)

arbitrators’ names if they are unable to agree upon a single arbitrator from amongst the three (3).

The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration

Association to be consistent with the provisions of this section. The board of education shall

determine the process for selecting arbitrators for the pool. The fee for the arbitration shall be split

equally between the two (2) parties involved in the arbitration. The rules governing the arbitration

procedure shall be the rules of the American Arbitration Association as pertains to arbitration.

     (v) At the arbitration hearing, the teacher and the school district may be represented by an

attorney or other representative, present evidence, and call witnesses and the school district shall

have the burden of proof. In determining whether the district has proven grounds for dismissal

consistent with this section, the arbitrator shall consider the best interests of the pupils in the district

and the need for elevation of performance standards.

     (vi) The arbitrator’s decision shall be issued within one month from the completion of the

arbitration hearing, unless all parties involved agree otherwise, and shall contain a detailed

statement of the reasons for the decision. Upon a finding that the dismissal was improper under the

standards set forth in this section, the arbitrator may award back pay, benefits, reinstatement, and

any other non-financial relief or any combination thereof. Under no circumstances shall the

arbitrator award punitive, consequential, or nominal damages or compensatory damages other than

back pay, benefits or reinstatement. In the event the teacher is reinstated, the period between the

dismissal and reinstatement shall be considered to be time served for purposes of employment. The

arbitral decision shall be subject to judicial review as provided in chapter 9.2 of title 28.

     (vii) With the exception of other remedies provided by statute, the remedies provided in

this section shall be the exclusive remedies available to teachers for wrongful termination.

     (b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or at any time to have

prohibited, a school committee in a municipality or regional school district with an elected school

committee, or the chief executive officer in a municipality with an appointed school committee

from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the arbitration of disputes arising out of the

nonrenewal, dismissal, and/or suspension of a teacher pursuant to §§ 16-13-2, 16-13-3, and/or 16-

13-5.

     16-13-6. Suspension because of decrease in school population — Seniority —

Reinstatement.

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     (a)(1) For all local education authorities other than the Providence public school district, a

A school board may, by reason of a substantial decrease of pupil population within its school

system, suspend teachers in numbers necessitated by the decrease in pupil population; provided,

however, that suspension of teachers shall be in the inverse order of their employment unless it is

necessary to retain certain teachers of technical subjects whose places cannot be filled by teachers

of earlier appointment; and, provided further, that teachers who are suspended shall be reinstated

in the inverse order of their suspension. No new appointments shall be made while there are

available teachers so suspended.

     (2)(i) The Providence public school district board may, by reason of substantial decrease

of pupil population within its school system, suspend teachers in numbers necessitated by the

decrease in pupil population; provided, however, that no teacher with tenure shall be laid off

pursuant to a reduction in force or reorganization, if there is a teacher without tenure for whose

position the covered employee is currently certified or if there is a less qualified teacher with tenure

holding the same or similar position for which the covered employee is currently certified. No

teacher with tenure shall be displaced in accordance with terms of a collective bargaining

agreement or otherwise by a more senior teacher with unless the more senior teacher is currently

certified and is at least as qualified for the position as the junior teacher holding the position.

     (ii) The criteria for determining a qualified teacher under this subsection shall be subject

to the collective bargaining agreement; provided, however, that any such collectively bargained for

qualifications shall include, as the primary factors, indicators of job performance, invading overall

ratings resulting from comprehensive evaluations and the best interests of the students in the school

or district.

     (iii) A teacher meeting one of the following criteria and who has not received an

unsatisfactory performance evaluation in the school year immediately prior to the school year in

which a layoff is announced shall be exempted without regard to tenure:

     (A) A teacher who graduated from an in-district secondary school if the district has higher

than the state percentage of high-needs students, as defined by the department;

     (B) A teacher who works in a school that is among the top twenty percent (20%) of schools

with the highest percentage of high-needs students in the district, as defined by the department;

     (C) A teacher who works in a school that is among the top twenty percent (20%) of schools

with the lowest staff retention in the district;

     (D) A teacher deemed by the department as a teacher of the year;

     (E) A teacher who received the highest rating on a performance evaluation delivered in

either or both of the school years immediately prior to the school year in which a layoff is

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announced; or

     (F) A teacher with linguistic proficiency in relation to in-district language or dialect. For

purposes of this subsection, linguistic proficiency means:

     (I) Holding the state’s Bilingual Education Endorsement;

     (II) Achieving at least an Advanced Low score on the Oral Proficiency Interview or Writing

Proficiency Test proficiency tests offered through the American Council for the Teaching of

Foreign Languages; or

     (III) Another method of verification or attestation of proficiency as determined by the

district superintendent. For the purpose of this subsection, in relation to in-district language or

dialect shall mean proficiency specifically in a language or dialect other than English that is spoken

by the greater of:

     (aa) Five percent (5%) or more of the students enrolled at the school where a teacher is

assigned or, if the teacher is not assigned to a school, of the students enrolled in the district; or

     (bb) At five percent (5%) or more of the homes of the students enrolled at the school where

a teacher is assigned or, if the teacher is not assigned to a school, of the homes of the students

enrolled in the district.

     (iv) Among the remaining teachers without tenure, no teacher shall be laid off pursuant to

a reduction in force or reorganization if there is a less qualified teacher without such status holding

the same or similar position for which the covered employee is currently certified.

     (v) The school committee and the collective bargaining representative may negotiate for

seniority or length of service only as a tie-breaker in personnel actions under this subsection among

teachers whose qualifications are no different using the qualifications collectively bargained for in

accordance with this subsection.

     (b) Notice of suspension under this section and § 16-13-5 shall be given, in writing, by the

governing body of schools on or before June 1 notifying the teacher that his or her employment for

the ensuing year shall be suspended, provided however, notice by that date need not be provided in

the instance of an emergency performance-related cause.

     SECTION 3. Chapter 16-7.1 of the General Laws entitled "The Paul W. Crowley Rhode

Island Student Investment Initiative [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of

Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     16-7.1-5.3. Termination of reconstitution and control of the Providence Public

schools.

     Notwithstanding other provisions of Rhode Island law, and notwithstanding the actions of

the board of education and/or its council on elementary and secondary education, the

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commissioner’s order of reconstitution and control of the Providence public schools issued on

October 15, 2019, shall terminate on June 30, 2026, subject to the following expectations:

     (1) The school board will:

     (i) Devote its primary focus to reviewing and improving student achievement outcomes;

     (ii) Work with the superintendent in a collaborative partnership including, but not limited

to, the formation of the district’s strategic planning and priorities, and the preparation of meeting

agendas.

     (2) The Providence school department will:

     (i) Adopt policies and procedures to promote labor-management collaboration, including

developing performance evaluation criteria for administrators that place a greater weight on

advancing collaboration with teachers;

     (ii) Adopt policies and procedures that promote greater site-based management;

     (iii) Place a greater priority on promoting educational initiatives at the building and

classroom levels by granting teachers greater flexibility in the delivery of education to students.

     (3) The city of Providence will provide generous local support for the Providence public

schools budget. Instead of limiting its contribution to the lowest possible “maintenance of effort”

allowed under state law, the city will, at a minimum, increase its annual contribution per student to

align with either inflation or the overall increase of per student state aid to the Providence public

schools.

     SECTION 4. 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 -- FOUNDATION LEVEL SCHOOL SUPPORT

***

     This act would allow a different minimum salary schedule for Providence public school

teachers whereby such teachers would be entitled to certain bonus and/or increased compensation

for taking on greater responsibilities. This act would further amend the teachers’ tenure act for

Providence public school teachers and provide a process for the dismissal and demotion for teachers

or other persons assigned full-time to the school, and allow the Providence public school district,

by reason of a substantial decrease of pupil population within its school system, to suspend teachers

in numbers necessitated by the decrease in pupil population and provide a process for any

suspensions. This act would also terminate the order of reconstitution and control of the Providence

public schools on June 30, 2026.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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