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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- S 0497 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001874 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- FAILING SCHOOL CHOICE ACT |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators de la Cruz, Rogers, DeLuca, and E Morgan |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2023 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Education |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | adding thereto the following chapters: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | CHAPTER 112 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | FAILING SCHOOL CHOICE ACT 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 16-112-1. Short title. 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Failing School Choice Act". 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | 16-112-2. Purpose. 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Any student who is assigned to a failing school, as defined by the department of education 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | as the bottom fifteen percent (15%) of public schools in Rhode Island as defined in § 16-112-5, 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | shall be eligible to utilize the provisions of this chapter to petition any public school with available 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | capacity to enroll in that school. A receiving school, of the parent’s choice, may enroll any 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | nonresident students. 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | 16-112-3. Funding. 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | Receiving schools shall be eligible for the state aid portion of the per-pupil aid from the 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | sending local education agency (LEA) in accordance with the state aid education funding formula 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | for reimbursement. The sending LEA shall pay and reimburse the receiving LEA for the full tuition 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | costs being paid for the student by the sending LEA with respect to any student with special needs 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | or an individual education plan. 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16-112-4. Eligibility. 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC001874 - Page 2 of 4 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (a) Students currently enrolled in failing schools shall be eligible for school choice pursuant 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | to § 16-112-2. 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (b) A receiving school may expel any student who has been suspended two (2) times or 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | more in a single school year. Any student who is expelled during the current school year is only 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | eligible for enrollment in their home district for that school year. The suspended student shall be 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | eligible for school choice for the next school year; provided, that if the student is again expelled, 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | the student shall be ineligible for school choice for four (4) consecutive years. 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | 16-112-5. Reporting requirements. 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (a) Every five (5) years, the department of education shall reclassify schools based upon 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | their performance except for students participating in the school choice program as set forth in § 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | 16-112-4. Students attending a school that falls into the bottom fifteen percent (15%), shall be 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | eligible for school choice. At no time shall any student who has been granted school choice lose 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | that status, except as set forth in § 16-112-4(b). 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (b) Every five (5) years, the department of education shall determine the functional 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | capacity of each school, in every school district, to determine the number of school choice students 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | available for enrollment. 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (c) Any student who has enrolled in a receiving school under § 16-112-4 shall be entitled 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | to attend the receiving school through the highest grade level offered by the failing school. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 16-112-6. Transportation. 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (a) Parents participating in school choice may utilize state school transportation only within 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | the same transportation region as defined in § 16-21.1-2. 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (b) Parents participating in school choice may utilize private school transportation to send 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | the student to any school district. 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (c) School transportation shall be provided at the sending school district’s expense or from 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | the Rhode Island Education Revitalization Fund (RIERF), as provided in chapter 113 of title 16, so 25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | long as the receiving school is in the same transportation region as the student’s sending school 26 |
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| 70 | 70 | | subject to regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island department of education. 27 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (d) Funding for transportation inside transportation regions shall be pursuant to § 16-21.1-28 |
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| 72 | 72 | | 2. 29 |
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| 73 | 73 | | 16-112-7. Rules and regulations. 30 |
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| 74 | 74 | | The department of education shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the 31 |
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| 75 | 75 | | provisions of this chapter. 32 |
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| 76 | 76 | | CHAPTER 113 33 |
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| 77 | 77 | | RHODE ISLAND EDUCATION REVITALIZATION FUND ACT 34 |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC001874 - Page 3 of 4 |
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| 81 | 81 | | 16-113-1. Short title. 1 |
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| 82 | 82 | | This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Education 2 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Revitalization Fund Act". 3 |
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| 84 | 84 | | 16-113-2. Purpose. 4 |
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| 85 | 85 | | The State of Rhode Island shall establish the Rhode Island Education Revitalization Fund 5 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (RIERF) to provide funds for any school choice program pursuant to chapter 112 of title 16. 6 |
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| 87 | 87 | | 16-113-3. Funding. 7 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (a) There shall be created a statewide property tax on all real property of any private college 8 |
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| 89 | 89 | | or university, nonprofit college or university, or any other post-secondary school. 9 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (b) The amount of the tax in subsection (a) of this section shall be based upon the 10 |
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| 91 | 91 | | endowment of the private college or university, nonprofit college or university, or any other post-11 |
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| 92 | 92 | | secondary school. 12 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (c) The amount to be collected to fund this chapter shall be included in the annual budget 13 |
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| 94 | 94 | | bill approved by the general assembly each fiscal year. 14 |
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| 95 | 95 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | LC001874 |
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| 101 | 101 | | LC001874 - Page 4 of 4 |
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| 102 | 102 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 103 | 103 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 104 | 104 | | OF |
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| 105 | 105 | | A N A C T |
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| 106 | 106 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- FAILING SCHOOL CHOICE ACT |
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| 107 | 107 | | *** |
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| 108 | 108 | | This act would establish the Failing School Choice Act, to permit students at failing schools 1 |
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| 109 | 109 | | to enroll in any public school. This act would also establish the Rhode Island education 2 |
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| 110 | 110 | | revitalization fund to provide funding to the school choice program. 3 |
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| 111 | 111 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 113 | 113 | | LC001874 |
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