Rhode Island 2025 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5282 Introduced / Bill

Filed 01/31/2025

                     
 
 
 
2025 -- H 5282 
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LC000961 
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D 
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 
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A N   A C T 
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX 
RELIEF ACT 
Introduced By: Representatives Donovan, Speakman, Cotter, Carson, Cortvriend, 
Messier, Edwards, and Morales 
Date Introduced: January 31, 2025 
Referred To: House 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 four times the core foundation amount (total of core instruction amount plus student success 9 
amount).; provided, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2027 are educational costs that exceed 10 
the state-approved threshold based on an amount above three and one-half times (3 ½) the core 11 
foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success amount); and provided 12 
further, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2028 are educational costs that exceed the state-13 
approved threshold based on an amount above three (3) times the core foundation amount (total of 14 
core-instruction amount plus student success amount). The department of elementary and 15 
secondary education shall prorate the appropriate funds available for distribution among those 16 
eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking 17 
reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year and shall also 18   
 
 
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appropriate funds in the following fiscal year for approved excess costs associated with special 1 
education students who move into a district after a district has approved its district fiscal year 2 
budget; and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those 3 
educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three 4 
(3), and five (5) times the core foundation amount; 5 
(b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements 6 
needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education 7 
programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher-8 
than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies 9 
necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. 10 
The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical 11 
education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department 12 
of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among 13 
those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking 14 
reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 15 
(c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. 16 
The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood 17 
program funds as may be determined by the general assembly; 18 
(d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure 19 
that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls 20 
is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. 21 
This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside 22 
the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, 23 
facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of 24 
Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city 25 
appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current 26 
state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined 27 
in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional 28 
support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a 29 
stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The 30 
department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as 31 
may be determined by the general assembly; 32 
(e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. 33 
This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of-34   
 
 
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district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of 1 
non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. 2 
The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for 3 
distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 4 
districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 5 
(f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This 6 
fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students 7 
within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires 8 
that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any 9 
federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary 10 
education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if 11 
the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount 12 
of funding available in any fiscal year; 13 
(g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus 14 
as set forth below: 15 
(1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school 16 
district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 17 
School district; 18 
(2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus 19 
shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the 20 
regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a 21 
regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 22 
School District; 23 
(3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the 24 
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 25 
§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 26 
(4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the 27 
state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 28 
§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 29 
(5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year; 30 
(6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to 31 
the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and 32 
(7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 33 
for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for 34   
 
 
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which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of 1 
funding appropriated in any fiscal year; 2 
(h) [Deleted by P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 8, § 1.] 3 
(i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school 4 
resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority 5 
who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing 6 
assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have 7 
completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an 8 
accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, 9 
school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct 10 
state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. 11 
Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of 12 
salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource 13 
officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that: 14 
(1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school: 15 
(i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand two hundred (1,200) students shall 16 
require one school resource officer; 17 
(ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand two hundred (1,200) or more students shall 18 
require two school resource officers; 19 
(2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be 20 
eligible for reimbursement; and 21 
(3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new 22 
positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and 23 
(j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to 24 
the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. 25 
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 26 
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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 amend the calculation of state funding provided to local education agencies 1 
for special education services. The act would revise the calculation of extraordinary special 2 
education costs in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, and would also provide additional funds for excess 3 
costs for special education students who move into a district after a district has approved its fiscal 4 
year budget. 5 
This act would take effect upon passage. 6 
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