2025 -- H 5292
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LC001073
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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
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- REGIONAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS
Introduced By: Representatives Fellela, Serpa, Read, and Phillips
Date Introduced: February 05, 2025
Referred To: House Education
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-45-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-45 entitled "Regional 1
Vocational Schools [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is 2
hereby amended to read as follows: 3
16-45-6.1. Career and technical education. 4
(a) The general assembly finds that career and technical education (“CTE”) programs that 5
meet the CTE board of trustees’ industry developed standards prepare Rhode Island’s students to 6
succeed in a wide variety of employment settings are a critical component of the state’s public 7
education system and a necessary element of the state’s economic development. CTE programs 8
that meet the CTE board of trustees’ standards are located in the regional career and technical 9
education centers and comprehensive high schools and are helping students graduate high school 10
with the skills to secure a job with a family-sustaining wage. 11
(b) The general assembly further finds that the proportion of students now enrolled in such 12
programs is inadequate to meet the needs of Rhode Island’s growing economy. Rhode Island’s 13
employers are best positioned to assist in establishing a high-quality system of secondary and 14
postsecondary career and technical education. To assist in the development of a high-quality system 15
of CTE, the CTE board of trustees shall review and annually provide recommendations to the board 16
of education regarding issues impacting secondary and postsecondary career and technical 17
education, including, but not limited to, program quality, industry alignment, the effective use of 18
state and federal CTE funding, the allocation of CTE funding, and expenditures of CTE funding, 19
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program outcomes, work-based learning, transportation, and graduation requirements. The report 1
and recommendations shall be provided to the board of education no later than October 15 of each 2
year. 3
(c) [Deleted by P.L. 2021, ch. 278, § 1 and P.L. 2021, ch. 279, § 1.] 4
(d)(1) To sustain and advance the economic development of our communities, all students 5
retain the right to enroll in a state approved career and technical education program approved by 6
the CTE board of trustees in communities outside their community of residence. This right does 7
not apply to locally developed CTE programs, locally approved CTE programs, pathway programs, 8
or other programs that are not approved by the CTE board of trustees. Students shall have a right 9
to request enrollment and to enroll in a CTE board of trustees’ approved program outside of their 10
community of residence when a substantially similar or same (“substantially similar”) CTE board 11
of trustees approved program is not offered within their community of residence. 12
(2) In determining whether two programs are substantially similar, the CTE board of 13
trustees shall consider the following factors: 14
(i) Program type; 15
(ii) Information on the occupation that the student will be prepared for; 16
(iii) The credentials the student will earn; 17
(iv) The type of work-based learning that the student will be provided access to; 18
(v) The ability to access advanced course experiences; and 19
(vi) Such additional factors as the CTE board of trustees deem to be relevant, including 20
postsecondary attainment, industry partnerships and advisory boards, and program quality. 21
(3) Effective January 15, 2022, and every year thereafter, the CTE board of trustees and 22
the department of elementary and secondary education shall publish a detailed list of substantially 23
similar CTE programs for the upcoming school year. The list will be used to support students and 24
their families in accessing CTE board of trustees approved career and technical education 25
programs. There will be a thirty-day (30) period for schools and districts to appeal the substantially 26
similar designation to the board of education. 27
(4) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program 28
(the “program of choice”) prior to January 1, 2022, which program is outside of their home district 29
but is considered to be substantially similar to a program in their home district, shall be allowed to 30
remain enrolled in that program of choice as set forth in subsection (j) of this section. 31
(e) Students may request access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs 32
outside their school district if their home district does not provide a substantially similar state-33
approved CTE program. If a discrepancy exists as to whether two (2) state-approved programs are 34
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substantially similar, the state CTE board shall use state CTE board program quality criteria set 1
forth in subsection (d) of this section to determine if the two (2) state CTE board-approved 2
programs are substantially similar programs. The decision of the CTE board shall be final. 3
(f)(1) A student’s request to enroll in an out of district state CTE board-approved career 4
and technical program shall not be denied, provided that: 5
(i) A substantially similar program is not available in the student’s home district; 6
(ii) The student meets any other criteria required of all students for admission to the out of 7
district program and the center; and 8
(iii) When there is more than one recognized CTE program in a transportation region, the 9
student is applying to the center that is geographically the closest program to the student’s 10
residence. 11
(g)(1) Students requesting access to state CTE board-approved career preparation programs 12
outside their established school transportation region may enroll in such programs that are not 13
substantially similar to a program in their home district. In such event, with respect to transportation 14
costs, the resident’s local education agency shall only be responsible for paying the resident 15
district’s average per pupil expenditure for student transportation for all students in the district. The 16
receiving district shall pay any remaining balance due for transportation costs associated with the 17
particular student. 18
(2) The sending district shall pay the average of the per-pupil expenditure of the receiving 19
district and sending district when paying out-of-district tuitions for students in CTE programs. 20
(3) When two or more substantially similar programs are available within a student’s 21
transportation district, that student may enroll in the program that is not geographically closest only 22
if the receiving district agrees to pay all the transportation costs to and from the receiving district. 23
(h) All eligible CTE programs shall align to CTE board of trustees’ program standards. 24
Programs that do not meet this standard shall not be eligible to enroll out-of-district students and 25
receive state or federal CTE funding. 26
(i) All state CTE board-approved programs shall align to industry standards or be 27
associated with a nationally recognized CTE board-approved program. 28
(j) Students enrolled in, accepted to, or attending a state CTE board-approved program of 29
choice outside of the students’ home district as of January 1, 2022, shall be exempt from the 30
substantially similar provisions of this section and may continue to matriculate in grades nine (9) 31
through twelve (12) in their program of choice so that students and parents who made educational 32
decisions prior to January 1, 2022, shall retain the rights that were in place when they made those 33
decisions. If a substantially similar state-approved program is established in a student’s home 34
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district after the student has enrolled in a program of choice, the student may continue to matriculate 1
in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) in the student’s program of choice provided the student 2
remains enrolled in the program. The sending district may request, and shall be provided by the 3
district with the chosen CTE program, information on the students’ progress in programs, including 4
attendance and grades. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply and extend to other 5
siblings in the family who apply to attend the same program of choice. 6
(k) Career and technical funds allocated under § 16-7.2-6 shall be used solely for the 7
purpose of funding improvements to state CTE board-approved career and technical education 8
programs and facilities or for funding related to the establishment of new career and technical 9
programs in our state. 10
(l) The limitations related to enrollment in CTE programs contained within this chapter 11
shall not apply to the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies, 12
Jr. Career and Technical High School. All eligible students, from any and all Rhode Island cities 13
and towns, have the right to pursue enrollment and enroll in, subject to applicable enrollment 14
procedures, the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center or the William M. Davies, Jr. 15
Career and Technical High School’s programs. 16
(m) Provided, effective July 1, 2025, any data collection and reporting for individual 17
students, that is required as part of the basic education program regulations data collection 18
including, but not limited to, data required pursuant to the provisions of chapter 7 and 7.2 of title 19
16, shall be the responsibility of the school district, wherein the student is attending and enrolled 20
in a career and technical education program, sometimes colloquially referred to as the "receiving 21
district," and not the responsibility of what is sometimes known as the student's "sending district." 22
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 23
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- REGIONAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS
***
This act would require that the basic education program data collection information for 1
students that attend career and technical education schools be charged to the receiving school 2
district and not the sending school district. 3
This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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