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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- H 5279 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001050 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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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 -- TEACHERS RETIREMENT |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representatives Donovan, Messier, Casimiro, McNamara, Fogarty, Biah, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Speakman, Furtado, Stewart, and Giraldo |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: January 31, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House Finance |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 16-16-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-16 entitled "Teachers’ 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Retirement [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | amended to read as follows: 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 16-16-5. Service creditable. 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) In calculating “service”, “prior service”, or “total service” as defined in § 16-16-1, every 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | teacher shall be given credit for a year of service for each year in which he or she shall have served 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | as a teacher; provided, that any teacher who through illness or leave of absence without pay does 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | not serve a full school year may receive credit for a full school year of service by paying the full 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | actuarial cost as defined in § 36-8-1(9). Credit for leaves of absence shall be limited, in the 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | aggregate, during the total service of a teacher to a period of four (4) years; provided, however, 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | every teacher who had been required to resign for maternity reasons may receive credit for 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | maternity reasons by making contribution to the system upon her return to teaching the amount she 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | would have contributed to the retirement system, with regular interest, based upon her expected 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | compensation but for her absence due to maternity reasons. 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) The retirement board shall fix and determine the time when and the conditions under 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | which the payments shall be made. 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (c) Any teacher who serves or who has served during a school year the number of days that 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the public schools are required by law to be in session during the year shall be given credit for a 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | year of service for that year. A teacher who takes an unpaid parental or medical leave during the 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC001050 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 45 | 45 | | year shall be given credit for a year of service for that school year, provided they serve at least one-1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | hundred thirty-five (135) school days. In determining the number of days served by a substitute 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | teacher the total number of days served in any public school of any city or town in the state may be 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | combined for any one school year. Any teacher shall be entitled to “prior service” credit for service 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | prior to July 1, 1949, provided the teacher shall have been in service during the school year 1949-5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | 1950. The teacher shall be entitled to service credit for any year subsequent to July 1, 1949 in 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | accordance with this chapter, by making contribution to the retirement system of the full actuarial 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | cost for any such service credit. 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (d) Any teacher employed in at least a half (½) program including a job share program, or 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | working at least half the number of days that the public schools are required to be in session, shall 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | remain a contributing member and shall receive credit for that part-time service on a proportional 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | basis. The purchase of any remaining program or job share time in which the teacher did not work 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | shall not be permitted. 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (e) In computing service or in computing compensation, the retirement board shall credit 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | no more than one year of service on account of all service in one calendar year. 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (f) Notwithstanding any other section of law, no member of the retirement system shall be 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | permitted to purchase service credit for any portion of a year for which he or she is already receiving 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | service credit in this retirement system. 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | ======== |
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| 65 | 65 | | LC001050 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ======== |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | |
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| 69 | 69 | | LC001050 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 70 | 70 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 71 | 71 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 72 | 72 | | OF |
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| 73 | 73 | | A N A C T |
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| 74 | 74 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS RETIREMENT |
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| 75 | 75 | | *** |
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| 76 | 76 | | This act would amend the current law on teacher’s creditable service so that a teacher who 1 |
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| 77 | 77 | | takes an unpaid parental or medical leave during the year would be given credit for a year of service 2 |
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| 78 | 78 | | for that school year if they served a minimum of one-hundred thirty-five school days. 3 |
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| 79 | 79 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 80 | 80 | | ======== |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC001050 |
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| 82 | 82 | | ======== |
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