Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6307 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5	2023 -- H 6307
6	6	========
7	7	LC002822
8	8	========
9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
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 PAUL W. CROWLEY RHODE ISLAND STUDENT
16	16	INVESTMENT INITIATIVE
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives Sanchez, Morales, J. Lombardi, Stewart, Perez, Cardillo,
18	18	Potter, Carson, Cortvriend, and Fellela
19	19	Date Introduced: April 21, 2023
20	20	Referred To: House Education
21	21
22	22
23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Section 16-7.1-5.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.1 entitled "The Paul 1
25	25	W. Crowley Rhode Island Student Investment Initiative [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode 2
26	26	Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
27	27	16-7.1-5.1. Intervention and support for the Providence public school district. 4
28	28	[Expires on July 1, 2024.] 5
29	29	(a) No later than September 1, 2022, and in order to assess the Providence school district 6
30	30	across multiple measures of district performance and student success, the commissioner shall 7
31	31	update the turnaround action plan released June 23, 2020 (the “turnaround plan”), to include 8
32	32	measurable annual goals including, but not limited to, the following: 9
33	33	(1) Student attendance and suspension rates; 10
34	34	(2) Student safety and discipline; 11
35	35	(3) Student promotion, graduation, and dropout rates; 12
36	36	(4) Student achievement on the Rhode Island comprehensive assessment system; 13
37	37	(5) Progress in areas of academic underperformance; 14
38	38	(6) Progress among subgroups of students, including low-income students, English 15
39	39	learners, and students receiving special education; 16
40	40	(7) Reduction of achievement gaps among different groups of students; 17
41	41	(8) Student acquisition and mastery of twenty-first century skills; 18
42	42
43	43
44	44	LC002822 - Page 2 of 5
45	45	(9) Development of college readiness, including at the elementary and middle school 1
46	46	levels; 2
47	47	(10) Parent and family engagement; 3
48	48	(11) Building a culture of academic success among students; 4
49	49	(12) Building a culture of student support and success among faculty and staff; 5
50	50	(13) Recruitment and retention of a qualified, diverse workforce; 6
51	51	(14) Staffing ratios and teacher vacancies; 7
52	52	(15) Health and safety of facilities; and 8
53	53	(16) Developmentally appropriate child assessments, if applicable. 9
54	54	(b) Effective March 1, 2023, and for the duration of the turnaround, the Providence school 10
55	55	board shall meet at least monthly, and more frequently if necessary, to provide public input of 11
56	56	district performance and implementation of turnaround strategies. The Providence school board 12
57	57	shall have, at a minimum, the following powers and duties: 13
58	58	(1) To review and advise the commissioner on the appointment of senior school district 14
59	59	administrators, provided that the Providence school board shall not have the authority to appoint 15
60	60	senior school district administrators so long as the turnaround plan is in effect; 16
61	61	(2) To advise the commissioner on districtwide policy, provided that the Providence school 17
62	62	board shall not have the authority to establish districtwide policy so long as the turnaround plan is 18
63	63	in effect; 19
64	64	(3) To review progress toward annual performance measures; 20
65	65	(4) To receive feedback from stakeholders on the implementation of the turnaround plan; 21
66	66	(5) To establish appropriate advisory committees as needed to provide guidance on the 22
67	67	implementation of the turnaround plan; and 23
68	68	(6) Any other duties delegated to the Providence school board by the commissioner or the 24
69	69	council on elementary and secondary education (the “council”). 25
70	70	(c)(1) The order of reconstitution and control, issued October 15, 2019, shall be authorized 26
71	71	for a period of not more than five (5) years from issuance. The commissioner and turnaround 27
72	72	superintendent may jointly develop additional components of the turnaround plan and shall jointly 28
73	73	develop annual goals for each component of the plan in a manner consistent with this section. The 29
74	74	superintendent shall be responsible for meeting the goals of the turnaround plan. 30
75	75	(2) The commissioner and superintendent shall provide a written report to the Providence 31
76	76	school board at a minimum, on a biannual basis to provide specific information about the progress 32
77	77	being made on the implementation of the district’s turnaround plan. One of the quarterly reports 33
78	78	shall include progress toward annual measures, pursuant to this section. 34
79	79
80	80
81	81	LC002822 - Page 3 of 5
82	82	(3) The commissioner shall evaluate the performance of the superintendent on not less than 1
83	83	an annual basis. The purpose of such evaluation shall be to assess the implementation of the 2
84	84	turnaround plan and determine whether the district has met the annual goals contained in the 3
85	85	turnaround plan. The evaluation shall be in writing and submitted to the council and the Providence 4
86	86	school board no later than July 1 for the preceding school year. 5
87	87	(4) If the commissioner determines that the district has met the annual performance goals 6
88	88	stated in the turnaround plan, the evaluation shall be considered sufficient and the implementation 7
89	89	of the turnaround plan shall continue. 8
90	90	(5) If the commissioner determines that the superintendent has not met one or more goals 9
91	91	in the plan and the failure to meet the goals may be corrected through reasonable modification of 10
92	92	the plan, the commissioner, after consultation with the Providence school board and with the 11
93	93	approval of the council, may amend the turnaround plan. 12
94	94	(6) If the commissioner determines that the superintendent has substantially failed to meet 13
95	95	multiple goals in the turnaround plan, the commissioner may terminate such superintendent. 14
96	96	(d)(1) The council shall adopt regulations providing for: 15
97	97	(i) The end of turnaround status; and 16
98	98	(ii) The transfer of the operation of a school district from the Rhode Island department of 17
99	99	elementary and secondary education to the school committee and municipal control. 18
100	100	(2) The regulations shall include provisions to allow a district to retain measures adopted 19
101	101	in a turnaround plan for a transitional period if, in the judgment of the commissioner, the measures 20
102	102	would contribute to the continued improvement of the district. Such regulations shall also include 21
103	103	provisions that clearly identify the conditions under which such a transitional period shall end and 22
104	104	the powers granted to the commissioner and council under this section shall cease to apply to the 23
105	105	district. 24
106	106	(e) If, on the basis of the regulations adopted by the council pursuant to subsection (d) of 25
107	107	this section, the Providence school district has not improved sufficiently to remove the district from 26
108	108	turnaround status, the commissioner may, after consultation with the Providence school board and 27
109	109	with the approval of the council: 28
110	110	(1) Determine subsequent annual goals for each component of the turnaround plan with the 29
111	111	turnaround superintendent, and renew the turnaround plan for an additional period of not more than 30
112	112	three (3) years; and 31
113	113	(2) Create a new turnaround plan, consistent with the requirements of this section. 32
114	114	(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or of § 16-7.1-5 to the contrary, 33
115	115	the Providence school board, the commissioner, the department of elementary and secondary 34
116	116
117	117
118	118	LC002822 - Page 4 of 5
119	119	education, the council, and such other parties as may be involved in the closing of schools in 1
120	120	Providence, are hereby directed to reverse the decision to close the Alan Shawn Feinstein 2
121	121	Elementary School, the Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, and the Gilbert Stuart Middle School, 3
122	122	all of which are located in Providence, for the 2023-2024 school year. Any student attending any 4
123	123	of those schools who was directed or assigned to another school for the 2023-2024 school year 5
124	124	shall be informed of this legislation and shall be given the option to return to the school the student 6
125	125	attended during the 2022-2023 school year. 7
126	126	(2) For the duration of the turnaround plan, no public school in the Providence school 8
127	127	district shall be closed permanently without the commissioner and the department of elementary 9
128	128	and secondary education providing notice of the impending closure of the school at least one year 10
129	129	in advance of the anticipated date of closure. This notice shall be provided to each student and to 11
130	130	the parent, guardian, or responsible adult of any student either attending the school to be closed or 12
131	131	who would be attending that school during the year in which the school is scheduled to be closed. 13
132	132	Provided, the one year period required for the notice may be reduced if the school closure is 14
133	133	approved by both the Providence school board and the council, after a public hearing is held by 15
134	134	each entity on the question of whether or not to close the particular school. 16
135	135	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17
136	136	========
137	137	LC002822
138	138	========
139	139
140	140
141	141	LC002822 - Page 5 of 5
142	142	EXPLANATION
143	143	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
144	144	OF
145	145	A N A C T
146	146	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE PAUL W. CROWLEY RHODE ISLAND STUDENT
147	147	INVESTMENT INITIATIVE
148	148	***
149	149	This act would direct the reversal of the decision to close the Alan Shawn Feinstein 1
150	150	Elementary School, the Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, and the Gilbert Stuart Middle School in 2
151	151	Providence. This act would also provide that for the duration of the turnaround plan, no public 3
152	152	school in the Providence school district would be closed permanently without the commissioner 4
153	153	and the department of elementary and secondary education providing notice of the impending 5
154	154	notice of closure of the school at least one year in advance of the anticipated date of closure. 6
155	155	This act would take effect upon passage. 7
156	156	========
157	157	LC002822
158	158	========