2023 -- S 0064
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LC000275
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
RELIEF ACT
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Murray, DiMario, Lawson, Acosta, and DiPalma
Date Introduced: February 02, 2023
Referred To: Senate Finance
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The 1
Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. 3
In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent 4
foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for: 5
(a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when 6
an individual special education student’s cost shall be deemed to be “extraordinary.” Extraordinary 7
costs are those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount 8
above five times the core foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success 9
amount). The department of elementary and secondary education (department) shall prorate the 10
funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for 11
which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in 12
any fiscal year; and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data 13
on those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two 14
(2), three (3), and four (4) times the core-foundation amount; 15
(b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements 16
needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education 17
programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher-18
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than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies 1
necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. 2
The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical 3
education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department 4
of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among 5
those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking 6
reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 7
(c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. 8
The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood 9
program funds as may be determined by the general assembly; 10
(d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure 11
that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls 12
is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. 13
This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside 14
the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, 15
facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of 16
Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city 17
appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current 18
state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined 19
in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional 20
support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a 21
stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The 22
department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as 23
may be determined by the general assembly; 24
(e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. 25
This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of-26
district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of 27
non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. 28
The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for 29
distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 30
districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 31
(f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This 32
fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students 33
within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires 34
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that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any 1
federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary 2
education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if 3
the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount 4
of funding available in any fiscal year; 5
(g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus 6
as set forth below: 7
(1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school 8
district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 9
School district; 10
(2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus 11
shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the 12
regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a 13
regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 14
School District; 15
(3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the 16
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 17
§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 18
(4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the 19
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 20
§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 21
(5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year; 22
(6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to 23
the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and 24
(7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 25
for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for 26
which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of 27
funding appropriated in any fiscal year; 28
(h) Additional state support for English learners (EL). The amount to support EL students 29
shall be determined by multiplying an EL factor of ten percent (10%) by the core-instruction per-30
pupil amount defined in § 16-7.2-3(a)(1) and applying that amount of additional state support to 31
EL students identified using widely adopted, independent standards and assessments identified by 32
the commissioner. All categorical funds distributed pursuant to this subsection must be used to 33
provide high-quality, research-based services to EL students and managed in accordance with 34
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requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The 1
department of elementary and secondary education shall collect performance reports from districts 2
and approve the use of funds prior to expenditure. The department of elementary and secondary 3
education shall ensure the funds are aligned to activities that are innovative and expansive and not 4
utilized for activities the district is currently funding. The department of elementary and secondary 5
education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among eligible recipients if the total 6
calculated costs exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 7
(i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school 8
resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority 9
who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing 10
assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have 11
completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an 12
accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, 13
school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct 14
state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. 15
Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of 16
salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource 17
officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that: 18
(1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school: 19
(i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand twelve hundred (1,200) students shall 20
require one school resource officer; 21
(ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand twelve hundred (1,200) or more students 22
shall require two school resource officers; 23
(2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be 24
eligible for reimbursement; and 25
(3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new 26
positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and 27
(j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to 28
the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. 29
(k) State support for school-based mental and behavioral health services. 30
(1) For a period of three (3) years, local education agencies (LEAs) shall receive direct 31
state support for costs associated with hiring and retaining mental and behavioral health 32
professionals certified by the department of elementary and secondary education, including, but 33
not limited to, certified school psychologists, certified social workers, or certified counselors. After 34
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accounting for any federal funds or federal, state or local grants received toward the costs associated 1
with such a position, LEAs shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the cost of 2
salaries and benefits that remain the LEA's responsibility. 3
(2) Funding shall be provided for mental or behavioral health professional positions 4
established on or after July 1, 2023, provided that: 5
(i) Schools choosing to hire certified social workers under this provision shall maintain a 6
ratio of no greater than two hundred fifty (250) students to one social worker; 7
(ii) Schools choosing to hire certified school psychologists under this provision shall 8
maintain a ratio of no greater than seven hundred (700) students to one school psychologist; and 9
(iii) Schools choosing to hire certified school counselors under this provision shall maintain 10
a ratio of no greater than two hundred fifty (250) students to one counselor; 11
(3) LEAs shall not be eligible to receive reimbursement for hiring certified mental or 12
behavioral health professionals that would result in ratios lower than those identified in subsection 13
(k)(2) of this section, unless the LEA provides a workload analysis to the department indicating 14
that additional mental or behavioral health professionals are required to deliver all specified 15
services to students in a particular school or schools. 16
(4) Schools or LEAs that eliminate existing mental or behavioral health positions and create 17
new positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement. 18
(5) Schools within the same LEA may share certified mental or behavioral health 19
professionals, provided that: 20
(i) The student-to-specialist ratio between the sharing schools does not exceed those in 21
subsection (k)(2) of this section; 22
(ii) Any shared specialists are shared between the same schools in the LEA to facilitate 23
establishing a centralized mental health team for the same student population and make 24
coordination of care more efficient; and 25
(iii) The sharing of specialists does not compromise professional standards or standards of 26
care. 27
(6) By October 1, 2023, and every October 1 thereafter, the department shall report to the 28
general assembly; 29
(i) The number and type of mental or behavioral health full-time employees (FTEs) 30
currently employed by each LEA; 31
(ii) The number and type of mental or behavioral health FTEs serving each school; and 32
(iii) For each partial FTE, describe the circumstances surrounding the use of a partial FTE. 33
If a partial FTE at a school or schools is the result of more than one school sharing a mental or 34
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behavioral health professional, the department shall identify all schools sharing the FTE. 1
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
RELIEF ACT
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This act would provide that the permanent foundation educational aid program would 1
provide state funding for school-based mental health services pursuant to specified conditions. 2
This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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