Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5322 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- H 5322
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7	7	LC000823
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
16	16	RELIEF ACT
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives O'Brien, J. Brien, Caldwell, Dawson, Slater, Hull, Vella-
18	18	Wilkinson, Craven, Corvese, and Shanley
19	19	Date Introduced: February 01, 2023
20	20	Referred To: House Finance
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23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The 1
25	25	Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
26	26	16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. 3
27	27	In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent 4
28	28	foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for: 5
29	29	(a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when 6
30	30	an individual special education student’s cost shall be deemed to be “extraordinary.” Extraordinary 7
31	31	costs are those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount 8
32	32	above five times the core foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success 9
33	33	amount). The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 10
34	34	for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 11
35	35	districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year 12
36	36	are over three (3) times the average statewide special education cost; and the department of 13
37	37	elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those educational costs that exceed 14
38	38	the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three (3), and four (4) times the 15
39	39	core-foundation amount; 16
40	40	(b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements 17
41	41	needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education 18
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45	45	programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher-1
46	46	than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies 2
47	47	necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. 3
48	48	The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical 4
49	49	education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department 5
50	50	of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among 6
51	51	those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking 7
52	52	reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 8
53	53	(c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. 9
54	54	The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood 10
55	55	program funds as may be determined by the general assembly; 11
56	56	(d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure 12
57	57	that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls 13
58	58	is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. 14
59	59	This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside 15
60	60	the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, 16
61	61	facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of 17
62	62	Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city 18
63	63	appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current 19
64	64	state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined 20
65	65	in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional 21
66	66	support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a 22
67	67	stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The 23
68	68	department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as 24
69	69	may be determined by the general assembly; 25
70	70	(e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. 26
71	71	This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of-27
72	72	district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of 28
73	73	non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. 29
74	74	The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for 30
75	75	distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 31
76	76	districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 32
77	77	(f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This 33
78	78	fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students 34
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82	82	within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires 1
83	83	that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any 2
84	84	federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary 3
85	85	education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if 4
86	86	the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount 5
87	87	of funding available in any fiscal year; 6
88	88	(g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus 7
89	89	as set forth below: 8
90	90	(1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school 9
91	91	district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 10
92	92	School district; 11
93	93	(2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus 12
94	94	shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the 13
95	95	regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a 14
96	96	regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 15
97	97	School District; 16
98	98	(3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the 17
99	99	state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 18
100	100	§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 19
101	101	(4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the 20
102	102	state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 21
103	103	§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 22
104	104	(5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year; 23
105	105	(6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to 24
106	106	the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and 25
107	107	(7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 26
108	108	for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for 27
109	109	which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of 28
110	110	funding appropriated in any fiscal year; 29
111	111	(h) Additional state support for English learners (EL). The amount to support EL students 30
112	112	shall be determined by multiplying an EL factor of ten percent (10%) by the core-instruction per-31
113	113	pupil amount defined in § 16-7.2-3(a)(1) and applying that amount of additional state support to 32
114	114	EL students identified using widely adopted, independent standards and assessments identified by 33
115	115	the commissioner. All categorical funds distributed pursuant to this subsection must be used to 34
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119	119	provide high-quality, research-based services to EL students and managed in accordance with 1
120	120	requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The 2
121	121	department of elementary and secondary education shall collect performance reports from districts 3
122	122	and approve the use of funds prior to expenditure. The department of elementary and secondary 4
123	123	education shall ensure the funds are aligned to activities that are innovative and expansive and not 5
124	124	utilized for activities the district is currently funding. The department of elementary and secondary 6
125	125	education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among eligible recipients if the total 7
126	126	calculated costs exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 8
127	127	(i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school 9
128	128	resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority 10
129	129	who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing 11
130	130	assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have 12
131	131	completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an 13
132	132	accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, 14
133	133	school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct 15
134	134	state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. 16
135	135	Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of 17
136	136	salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource 18
137	137	officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that: 19
138	138	(1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school: 20
139	139	(i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand twelve hundred (1,200) students shall 21
140	140	require one school resource officer; 22
141	141	(ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand twelve hundred (1,200) or more students 23
142	142	shall require two school resource officers; 24
143	143	(2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be 25
144	144	eligible for reimbursement; and 26
145	145	(3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new 27
146	146	positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and 28
147	147	(j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to 29
148	148	the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. 30
149	149	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 31
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156	156	EXPLANATION
157	157	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
158	158	OF
159	159	A N A C T
160	160	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
161	161	RELIEF ACT
162	162	***
163	163	This act would amend the definition of the term "extraordinary costs" for the purposes of 1
164	164	excess costs associated with special education students. The new definition of extraordinary costs 2
165	165	would be educational costs that are over three (3) times the average statewide special education 3
166	166	cost. 4
167	167	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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