Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5637 Compare Versions

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99 S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN
1616 ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT
1717 Introduced By: Representatives Chippendale, Rea, J. Brien, and Place
1818 Date Introduced: February 15, 2023
1919 Referred To: House Finance
2020
2121
2222 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2323 SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by 1
2424 adding thereto the following chapter: 2
2525 CHAPTER 112 3
2626 THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT 4
2727 16-112-1. Short title. 5
2828 This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Bright Today Scholarship and Open 6
2929 Enrollment Education Act." 7
3030 16-112-2. Purpose. 8
3131 (a) The purpose of this chapter is to provide parents of kindergarten through grade twelve 9
3232 (K-12) students in Rhode Island with an opportunity to enroll their child in an educational program 10
3333 of their choosing, either via open enrollment in a traditional public school in their own district or 11
3434 in any other public school district, or by receiving a scholarship, with designated public monies to 12
3535 follow the student to the private school or private curriculum program selected by the parent. 13
3636 (b) National research demonstrates that with scholarships, similar to those provided for in 14
3737 this chapter, public school districts can actually save money and in most instances also see 15
3838 improved academic outcomes because of the new "parental" accountability standards they will be 16
3939 held to. 17
4040 (c) Further, this chapter has been crafted to ensure that more money per pupil remains in 18
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4444 public school districts, even after scholarships have been awarded from the state portion of 1
4545 educational funding to districts. 2
4646 16-112-3. Definition of terms. 3
4747 As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the 4
4848 context clearly indicates otherwise: 5
4949 (1) "Base funding" means and refers to a resident district's funding from state and local 6
5050 sources to serve and educate students on a per pupil basis. Federal funds are not included. 7
5151 (2) "Bright today scholarships" ("scholarships"), sometimes referred to in this chapter as 8
5252 "educations savings accounts (ESAs)" means and will be offered to all students that are, or will 9
5353 become, enrolled in any public, private, or home school system in the State of Rhode Island. The 10
5454 scholarships allow parents to utilize certain funds that would normally be allocated to their child at 11
5555 their resident school district for an educational program as determined by the parents or guardian 12
5656 of the child. 13
5757 (3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade 14
5858 level, including any supplemental materials required by the curriculum. 15
5959 (4) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary 16
6060 education (RIDE) or any other organization designated by RIDE to administer the bright today 17
6161 scholarship program. 18
6262 (5) "Eligible student" means any kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) student who 19
6363 meets any of the following requirements: 20
6464 (i) Attended a public school as a full-time student in Rhode Island in the preceding 21
6565 semester; 22
6666 (ii) Is beginning school in Rhode Island for the first time; or 23
6767 (iii) Attended a private school or received at-home instruction in conformance with § 16-24
6868 19-1 in the preceding semester. 25
6969 (6) "Open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a school district 26
7070 governing board to allow resident transfer pupils to enroll in any school within the school district. 27
7171 to allow resident pupils to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state, or 28
7272 to allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district. 29
7373 (7) "Parent" means a resident of Rhode Island who is the parent or legal guardian of an 30
7474 eligible student. 31
7575 (8) "Participating school" means any private school that provides education to students in 32
7676 fulfillment of any grades, kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12), and has notified the 33
7777 department of its intention to participate in the bright today scholarship program and to comply 34
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8181 with the requirements of the program as defined by this chapter or subsequently regulated by the 1
8282 department for the implementation thereof. 2
8383 (9) "Participating student" means any eligible student or qualified student who is accepted 3
8484 into the bright today scholarship program. 4
8585 (10) "Qualified funding" refers to the additional funds allocated by the state for students 5
8686 having a disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or chapter 6
8787 24 of title 16. 7
8888 (11) "Qualified school" means a nongovernmental primary or secondary school or a 8
8989 preschool for handicapped students that is located in this state and that conforms with the 9
9090 requirements for such schools within Rhode Island. 10
9191 (12) "Qualified student" means a resident of this state who is an "eligible student", and who 11
9292 is any of the following: 12
9393 (i) Identified as having a disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 13
9494 U.S.C. 794); or 14
9595 (ii) A child with a disability who is eligible to receive services from a school district under 15
9696 chapter 24 of title 16. 16
9797 (13) "Resident school district" means the public school district in which the student resides. 17
9898 (14) "Treasurer" means the office of the Rhode Island general treasurer. 18
9999 16-112-4. Core components and requirements of the bright today scholarship 19
100100 program. 20
101101 (a) Scholarships. Scholarships are established to provide options for the education of 21
102102 students in Rhode Island. 22
103103 (b) Enrollment. Any parent of a participating student may enroll the student for a 23
104104 scholarship by signing an agreement whereby the parent promises: 24
105105 (1) To provide an education for the participating student in at least the subjects of reading, 25
106106 grammar, mathematics, social studies and science; 26
107107 (2) Not to enroll the participating student in a school district or charter school and release 27
108108 the school district from all obligations to educate the qualified student; 28
109109 (3) To use the money deposited in the participating student's bright today scholarship 29
110110 account only for the following expenses of the participating student: 30
111111 (i) Tuition or fees at a participating school or a qualified school; 31
112112 (ii) Textbooks required by a participating school, qualified school, or private tutoring 32
113113 curriculum; 33
114114 (iii) Tutoring services provided by a tutor accredited by a state, regional or national 34
115115
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118118 accrediting organization; 1
119119 (iv) Curriculum; 2
120120 (v) Tuition or fees for a non-public online learning program; 3
121121 (vi) Fees for a nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test, advanced 4
122122 placement examinations or any exams related to college or university admission; 5
123123 (vii) Educational therapies or services for the qualified student from a licensed or 6
124124 accredited practitioner or provider, including licensed or accredited paraprofessionals or 7
125125 educational aides: 8
126126 (viii) Fees for courses at an eligible postsecondary institution, taken prior to the student's 9
127127 graduation from high school or the equivalent; 10
128128 (ix) Fees for management of the scholarship account by firms selected by the general 11
129129 treasurer; and 12
130130 (x) Services provided by a public school, including individual classes and extracurricular 13
131131 programs; 14
132132 (4) Any unspent funds may be rolled over and shall remain in the participating student's 15
133133 scholarship for use in future years during the participating student's kindergarten through grade 16
134134 twelve (K-12) educational career; 17
135135 (5) Not to use monies deposited in the participating student's account for any of the 18
136136 following: 19
137137 (i) Computer hardware or other technological devices, except as required in lieu of 20
138138 textbooks or for the completion of specific course requirements; 21
139139 (ii) Transportation of the pupil; and 22
140140 (iii) Consumable educational supplies, including, but not limited to, paper, pens or markers; 23
141141 (c) Parent payments. Parents will be allowed to make payments for the costs of educational 24
142142 programs and services not covered by the funds in their scholarship accounts. 25
143143 (d) Department scholarship account fund. In exchange for the parent's agreement pursuant 26
144144 to subsection (b) of this section, the department shall transfer from the aggregate monies that would 27
145145 otherwise be allocated to the participating student's resident school district a payment for base 28
146146 funding or qualified funding as described in subsections (e), (f), and (g) of this section, to the 29
147147 general treasurer for deposit into an individual bright today scholarship account to be managed by 30
148148 the parents of the student. The department may retain a maximum of three percent (3%) of each 31
149149 individual scholarship awarded in any given school year for deposit in the department's scholarship 32
150150 account fund to be used for administration of the scholarship program. 33
151151 (e) Base funding -- Scholarship award schedule for new and switching students. Grant 34
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155155 amounts to scholarship accounts of families of eligible students will be determined by the following 1
156156 guidelines; provided that, no individual student's scholarship shall exceed six thousand dollars 2
157157 ($6,000); 3
158158 (1) For students from households qualifying for the federal free or reduced-price lunch 4
159159 program, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the 5
160160 resident district's base funding. 6
161161 (2) For students from households with annual income greater than the amount required to 7
162162 qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or equal to one and one-half (1.5) times 8
163163 that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to seventy-five percent (75%) of the 9
164164 resident district's base funding. 10
165165 (3) For students from households with annual income of greater than one and one-half (1.5) 11
166166 times the amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or equal 12
167167 to two (2) times that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to fifty percent (50%) 13
168168 of the resident district's base funding. 14
169169 (4) For students from households with annual income of greater than two (2) times the 15
170170 amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program but less than or equal to two and 16
171171 one-half (2.5) times that amount, each student's scholarship amount shall be equal to twenty-five 17
172172 percent (25%) of the resident district's base funding. 18
173173 (5) For students from households with annual income of greater than two and one-half (2.5) 19
174174 times the amount required to qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, each student's 20
175175 scholarship amount shall be equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the resident district's base funding. 21
176176 (f) Base funding -- Scholarship award schedule for students attending private school or 22
177177 receiving at-home instruction at the time of enactment. Grant amounts to scholarship accounts of 23
178178 families of approved students pursuant to this chapter shall be equal to the scholarships for their 24
179179 household income level, as set forth in subsection (e) of this section; provided that, each student's 25
180180 scholarship amount shall be reduced by seventy-five percent (75%). 26
181181 (g) Qualified funding -- Scholarship awards. For any student having a disability who is 27
182182 accepted into the bright today scholarship account program, the scholarship amount will be equal 28
183183 to the scholarships for their household income level, as described in this section, plus the additional 29
184184 qualified funding designated for that student. The department may reduce the additional qualified 30
185185 funding award by an amount sufficient to reimburse the department and the resident school district 31
186186 for services assessing the student or developing an individual education plan for that student; 32
187187 provided that, such reimbursements shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the additional qualified 33
188188 funding award. 34
189189
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192192 (h) A parent must renew the participating student's scholarship account on an annual basis. 1
193193 A student who has previously qualified for a bright today scholarship account shall remain eligible 2
194194 to apply for renewal until the student graduates with a high school diploma or the equivalent. 3
195195 (i) A participating school, qualified school, or a provider of services purchased pursuant to 4
196196 § 16-112-4(b)(3) shall not share, refund, or rebate any bright today scholarship account monies 5
197197 with the parent, eligible student, or qualified student in any manner. 6
198198 (j) A participating student shall be counted in the enrollment figures for his or her resident 7
199199 school district for the purposes of the state funding formula under the permanent foundation 8
200200 education aid set forth in chapter 7.2 of this title for as long as that student remains an eligible 9
201201 student under this chapter. The department shall subsequently subtract the total aggregate 10
202202 scholarship amounts awarded to students within each resident district from that district's state 11
203203 school aid. 12
204204 (k) In subsequent years following enactment of this chapter, for "participating" students 13
205205 who have entered the state's kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) educational system for the 14
206206 first time, fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of such students shall be counted in the 15
207207 enrollment figures for his or her resident school district for the purposes of the state funding formula 16
208208 under the permanent foundation education aid set forth in chapter 7.2 of this title, for as long as 17
209209 those students remain "eligible" students pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 18
210210 (l) Funds in the scholarship account may only be used during the student's kindergarten 19
211211 through grade twelve (K-12) educational career. Upon the participating student's graduation with a 20
212212 high school diploma or the equivalent, the student's bright today scholarship account shall be closed 21
213213 and any remaining funds shall be returned to the Rhode Island department of elementary and 22
214214 secondary education. 23
215215 (m) Monies received pursuant to this chapter do not constitute taxable income to the parent 24
216216 of the participating student. 25
217217 16-112-5. Administration of bright today scholarship accounts. 26
218218 (a) The department shall determine a specified "application period" that is between April 27
219219 1 and June 30 of each year during which it will accept applications for the following fiscal year. 28
220220 (b) The department shall adopt rules and policies necessary for the administration of 29
221221 scholarship accounts. including policies for conducting examinations of use of account funds. 30
222222 Conducting random quarterly and annual reviews of accounts, potentially including, but not limited 31
223223 to, creating an online anonymous fraud reporting service, and creating an anonymous telephone 32
224224 hotline for fraud reporting. 33
225225 (c) The general treasurer may contract with private financial management firms to manage 34
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229229 bright today scholarship accounts; provided the treasurer maintains supervision of the process. 1
230230 (d) The debarment shall have the authority to conduct or contract for annual or random 2
231231 audits of scholarship accounts, to ensure compliance with this chapter. 3
232232 (e) A parent or participating student or vendor may be disqualified from program 4
233233 participation if the party is found to have committed an intentional program violation consisting of 5
234234 any misrepresentation or other act that materially violates a law or rule governing the program. The 6
235235 department may then remove any parent or participating student from future eligibility for a bright 7
236236 today scholarship account and shall notify the treasurer. A parent, student, or vendor may appeal 8
237237 the department's decision pursuant to an appeal process to be established by the department and as 9
238238 set forth in chapter 39 of title 16. 10
239239 (f) The department may refer cases of substantial misuse of monies to the attorney general 11
240240 for investigation if the department obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account. 12
241241 (g) The department shall make quarterly transfers of the amount calculated for base funding 13
242242 and qualified funding pursuant to the provisions of § 16-112-4 to the general treasurer for deposit 14
243243 into the individual scholarship account of each qualified student. 15
244244 (h) A person commits savings account fraud if the person knowingly obtains by means of 16
245245 a false statement or representation, by impersonation, or by other fraudulent device any of the 17
246246 following: 18
247247 (1) Assistance or service to which that person is not entitled; 19
248248 (2) Assistance or service greater than that to which the person is entitled; and 20
249249 (3) Payment for services or materials not listed in § 16-112-4(b)(3). 21
250250 (i) No financial institution shall be liable in any civil action for providing a scholarship 22
251251 account's financial information to the department of education unless the information provided is 23
252252 false and the financial institution providing the false information does so knowingly and with 24
253253 malice. 25
254254 16-112-6. Administrative and academic accountability standards. 26
255255 To hold participating schools accountable and to ensure that certain administrative 27
256256 standards are met to treat all students safely and fairly, participating schools shall: 28
257257 (1) Comply with all state laws dealing with health and safety that apply to private schools; 29
258258 (2) Maintain a valid occupancy permit, as may be required by state or local laws; 30
259259 (3) Certify their compliance with nondiscrimination policies and provisions set forth in 42 31
260260 U.S.C. 1981; and 32
261261 (4) Provide parents with a receipt for all qualifying expenses at the school. 33
262262 16-112-7. Academic accountability standards. 34
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266266 In order to allow parents and taxpayers to measure the achievements of the program: 1
267267 (1) Parents shall ensure that: 2
268268 (i) Each year, participating students within their households take either the state 3
269269 achievement tests or nationally norm-referenced tests that measure learning gains in math and 4
270270 language arts and provide for value-added assessment; 5
271271 (ii) The results of these tests are provided to the department on an annual basis, beginning 6
272272 with the first year of testing; 7
273273 (iii) The student information is reported in a way that would allow the state to aggregate 8
274274 data by grade level, gender, family income level, and race; and 9
275275 (iv) The department will be informed of the eligible student's graduation from high school, 10
276276 or the equivalent. 11
277277 (2) The department shall: 12
278278 (i) Ensure compliance with all student privacy laws; 13
279279 (ii) Collect all test results from all participating students; 14
280280 (iii) Provide aggregate test results, associated learning gains, and graduation rates to the 15
281281 public via a state website after the third year of test and graduation-related data collection. The 16
282282 findings shall be aggregated by the students' grade level, gender, family income level, number of 17
283283 years of participation in the scholarship program, and race; 18
284284 (iv) Provide graduation rates to the public via a state website after the third year of test and 19
285285 test-related data collection; 20
286286 (v) Administer an annual parental satisfaction survey that shall ask parents of students 21
287287 receiving scholarship accounts to express: 22
288288 (A) Their satisfaction with the program; and 23
289289 (B) Their opinions on other topics, items, or issues that the state finds would elicit 24
290290 information about the effectiveness of scholarship accounts program and the number of years their 25
291291 child has participated in the program. 26
292292 16-112-8. Prohibition of state control over nonpublic schools and homeschools. 27
293293 (a) This chapter shall not permit any government agency to exercise control or supervision 28
294294 over any nonpublic school or homeschool. 29
295295 (b) Participating schools or parents or groups providing at-home instructions that accept 30
296296 payments from a scholarship account pursuant to this chapter are not agents of the state or federal 31
297297 governments. 32
298298 (c) A participating or qualified school shall not be required to alter its creed, practices, 33
299299 admissions policies, or curricula in order to accept students whose parents pay tuition or fees from 34
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303303 scholarship accounts pursuant to this chapter in order to participate. 1
304304 (d) Participating private schools, providers of at-home instruction, and other education 2
305305 providers shall be given the maximum freedom to provide for the educational needs of their 3
306306 students without governmental or departmental control. 4
307307 (e) In any legal proceeding challenging the application of this chapter to a participating 5
308308 school, the state bears the burden of establishing that the law is necessary and does not impose any 6
309309 undue burden on participating schools or providers. 7
310310 16-112-9. Responsibilities of the department. 8
311311 (a) The department shall ensure that eligible students and their parents are informed 9
312312 annually of which schools will be participating in the scholarship account program. Special 10
313313 attention shall be paid to ensuring that lower-income families are made aware of the program and 11
314314 their options. 12
315315 (b) The department shall create a standard form that parents of eligible students can submit 13
316316 to establish their students' eligibility for the scholarship account program. The department shall 14
317317 ensure that the application is readily available to interested families through various sources, 15
318318 including the Internet. 16
319319 (c) The department may bar a participating school or education provider from the 17
320320 scholarship account program if the department establishes that the participating school or education 18
321321 provider has: 19
322322 (1) Routinely failed to comply with the accountability standards established in this chapter; 20
323323 or 21
324324 (2) Failed to provide the eligible student with the educational services funded by the 22
325325 scholarship account. 23
326326 (d) If the department decides to bar a participating school or education provider from the 24
327327 program, it shall notify eligible students and their parents of this decision as quickly as possible. 25
328328 (e) The department shall adopt rules and procedures as necessary for the administration of 26
329329 the scholarship account program. 27
330330 16-112-10. Responsibilities of the resident school district. 28
331331 (a) The resident school district shall provide a participating school or education provider 29
332332 that has admitted an eligible student under this program with a complete copy of the student's school 30
333333 records, while complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 31
334334 1232g). 32
335335 (b) The resident school district shall provide transportation for an eligible student to and 33
336336 from the participating school or education provider under the same conditions as the resident school 34
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340340 district is required to provide transportation for other resident students to private schools as per 1
341341 current law. The resident school district may qualify for any existing state transportation aid for 2
342342 each student so transported. 3
343343 (c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as supplanting the responsibilities of resident 4
344344 districts as provided in current law. 5
345345 16-112-11. Open enrollment. 6
346346 (a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section: 7
347347 (1) "Nonresident pupil" means a pupil who resides in the State of Rhode Island and who is 8
348348 enrolled in or is seeking enrollment in a school district other than the school district in which the 9
349349 pupil resides. 10
350350 (2) "Open enrollment" means a policy adopted and implemented by a school district 11
351351 governing board to allow resident transfer pupils to enroll in any school within the school district, 12
352352 to allow resident pupils to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state, or 13
353353 to allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district. 14
354354 (3) "Resident transfer pupil" means a resident pupil who is enrolled in or seeking 15
355355 enrollment in a school that is within the school district but outside the attendance area of the pupil's 16
356356 residence. 17
357357 (4) "Receiving school district" means the school district that has accepted enrollment of a 18
358358 nonresident pupil. 19
359359 (b) Enrollment policies. 20
360360 (1) School district governing boards shall establish inter-district open enrollment policies. 21
361361 (2) State funding adjustments may be arranged for nonresident pupils only if two (2) school 22
362362 districts have entered into a voluntary agreement for such adjustments for certain pupils. These 23
363363 policies shall include admission criteria, available capacity, application procedures, and 24
364364 transportation provisions. Any and all funding adjustments will be made via associated adjustments 25
365365 of the state portion of funds distributed to the mutually agreed districts. 26
366366 (3) A copy of the district policies for open enrollment shall be posted on the district's 27
367367 website and shall be available to the public on request. 28
368368 (i) Each policy shall describe the opportunities for resident pupils to transfer to other 29
369369 schools within the district or outside of the district and the opportunities for nonresident pupils to 30
370370 transfer to schools within the district. 31
371371 (ii) Each nonresident pupil shall be counted in the enrollment figures for his or her new 32
372372 "receiving school district." for the purposes of the state funding formula under chapter 7.2 of this 33
373373 title. 34
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377377 (iii) Resident transfer pupils and nonresident pupils shall be permitted to remain in the 1
378378 school into which they were initially accepted through completion of the highest grade offered in 2
379379 that school and may be given enrollment preference for other schools within the receiving school 3
380380 district. 4
381381 (iv) A school district may give enrollment preference to and reserve capacity for pupils 5
382382 who are children of persons who are employed by or at a school in the school district. 6
383383 (v) The resident school district shall provide transportation for a nonresident or resident 7
384384 transfer pupils to and from the participating school or education provider under the same conditions 8
385385 as the resident school district is required to provide transportation for other resident students to 9
386386 private schools as per current law. The resident school district may qualify for any existing state 10
387387 transportation aid for each student so transported. 11
388388 (vi) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or replace specific agreements that 12
389389 school districts may have with other school districts upon enactment of this chapter or to limit their 13
390390 right to enter into such agreements thereafter. 14
391391 (c) District and school immunity. A school district and its employees are immune from 15
392392 civil liability for decisions that concern the acceptance or rejection of a nonresident pupil for 16
393393 enrollment and that are based on a good faith application of the requirements of this chapter and 17
394394 the standards adopted pursuant to this chapter. 18
395395 16-112-12. Commencement of program. 19
396396 The bright today scholarship and open enrollment program shall be in effect beginning 20
397397 August 1, 2023. 21
398398 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 22
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405405 EXPLANATION
406406 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
407407 OF
408408 A N A C T
409409 RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE BRIGHT TODAY SCHOLARSHIP AND OPEN
410410 ENROLLMENT EDUCATION ACT
411411 ***
412412 This act would provide parents of kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) students in 1
413413 Rhode Island with an opportunity to enroll their child in an educational program of their choosing, 2
414414 either via open enrollment in a traditional public school in their own district or any other public 3
415415 school district, or by receiving a scholarship, with designated public monies to follow the student 4
416416 to a participating private school or private curriculum program selected by the parent. The program 5
417417 combines aspects of what are sometimes referred to as "school choice" and "school voucher" 6
418418 programs. The program would begin August 1, 2023. 7
419419 This act would take effect upon passage. 8
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