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Rhode Island Senate Bill S0030

Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0030 Compare Versions

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99 S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO EDUCATION -- POSTSECONDARY TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR
1616 SHORTAGE TEACHING FIELDS
1717 Introduced By: Senators Acosta, Gallo, Mack, Valverde, Zurier, and Murray
1818 Date Introduced: January 23, 2025
1919 Referred To: Senate Finance
2020
2121
2222 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2323 SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by 1
2424 adding thereto the following chapter: 2
2525 CHAPTER 117 3
2626 POSTSECONDARY TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR SHORTAGE TEACHING FIELDS 4
2727 16-117-1. Creation. 5
2828 There is hereby established within the office of the postsecondary commissioner (“OPC”) 6
2929 a restricted receipt account entitled the Shortage Teaching Fields Tuition Assistance Fund (“the 7
3030 fund”). The fund shall be used to provide payment from the state to an eligible individual’s 8
3131 institution of higher education toward a portion of their tuition and other costs of attending said 9
3232 institution under this chapter. 10
3333 16-117-2. Definitions. 11
3434 For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following 12
3535 meanings: 13
3636 (1) "Costs of attending" means expenses other than tuition, room, board, and mandatory 14
3737 fees that are necessary to the successful completion of a degree program at a Rhode Island 15
3838 postsecondary institution. Such expenses shall be paid for in accordance with rules and regulations 16
3939 promulgated by OPC, and may include, but are not limited to, transportation, child care, and course-17
4040 related books and materials. 18
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4444 (2) "OPC" means the office of the postsecondary commissioner. 1
4545 (3) "Service requirement" means specific employment and work obligations that 2
4646 individuals shall meet if they receive tuition assistance under this chapter. 3
4747 (4) "Shortage teaching fields" means subject areas or teacher certifications that are 4
4848 experiencing a critical lack of educators in the State of Rhode Island. These shall include, but are 5
4949 not limited to: 6
5050 (i) Any sciences for grades seven (7) through twelve (12); and 7
5151 (ii) Any mathematics for grades seven (7) through twelve (12). 8
5252 (5) "Tuition assistance recipients" means individuals receiving assistance toward their 9
5353 tuition and other costs of attending a postsecondary institution under this chapter. 10
5454 16-117-3. Eligibility of individuals. 11
5555 (a) In general, tuition assistance recipients under this chapter shall: 12
5656 (1) Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, at a Rhode Island postsecondary institution in 13
5757 a program to become a teacher in a shortage field; 14
5858 (2) Complete the service requirement set forth in § 16-117-4; and 15
5959 (3) Fulfill any other conditions required by OPC. 16
6060 (b) Tuition assistance recipients under this chapter shall not be required to: 17
6161 (1) Provide a score from the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or Advanced Placement 18
6262 (AP) test as a condition of admission to the teaching degree program of any postsecondary 19
6363 institution in Rhode Island; or 20
6464 (2) Be a resident of Rhode Island. 21
6565 (c) If an individual receives tuition assistance under this chapter, and then leaves their 22
6666 institution’s program to become a teacher in a shortage field prior to completing their degree, the 23
6767 tuition assistance provided to date shall become a loan to be repaid by the individual. 24
6868 (d) If an individual receives tuition assistance under this chapter, and then does not 25
6969 complete the service requirement provided in § 16-117-4, the tuition assistance provided to date 26
7070 shall become a loan to be repaid by the individual. 27
7171 (e) Transferring from one postsecondary institution in Rhode Island to a different 28
7272 postsecondary institution in Rhode Island shall not negatively affect an individual’s eligibility for 29
7373 tuition assistance under this chapter; provided that, they remain in compliance with all other 30
7474 eligibility requirements. 31
7575 16-117-4. Service requirements to receive tuition assistance. 32
7676 To receive tuition assistance under this chapter, individuals shall complete at least three (3) 33
7777 years of full-time teaching in a shortage teaching field at any elementary or secondary school in the 34
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8181 state. 1
8282 16-117-5. Disbursement. 2
8383 All funds distributed in accordance with this chapter shall be: 3
8484 (1) Allocated toward the tuition, room, board, mandatory fees, and additional costs of 4
8585 attending a Rhode Island postsecondary institution to become a teacher in a shortage field; 5
8686 (2) Provided to cover tuition, room, board, mandatory fees, and/or costs of attending a 6
8787 Rhode Island postsecondary institution that remain after all other financial aid funds have been 7
8888 awarded to the tuition assistance recipient; and 8
8989 (3) Available for individuals to attend any Rhode Island postsecondary institution, public 9
9090 or private; provided that, funds disbursed to a private institution for tuition, room, board, and 10
9191 mandatory fees shall be limited to the amount that Rhode Island college charges for the same 11
9292 expenses in the same academic year. Additional costs of attending a private institution shall be paid 12
9393 for in accordance with regulations promulgated by OPC. 13
9494 16-117-6. Administration of shortage teaching field tuition assistance fund. 14
9595 OPC shall administer the fund and OPC shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary 15
9696 to implement this chapter, which shall include, but are not limited to: 16
9797 (1) The process for defining any shortage teaching fields in addition to the ones provided 17
9898 in § 16-117-2, and updating said definition at least once every other year; 18
9999 (2) Providing an easy-to-follow guide in a variety of languages regarding how to apply for 19
100100 tuition assistance under this chapter; 20
101101 (3) How to fulfill the service requirement, including the length of time afforded to 21
102102 individuals to complete it and consideration for leaves of absence related to the health of the 22
103103 individual or a close family member, pregnancy, and military service; and 23
104104 (4) Defining the nature and extent of costs of attending a postsecondary institution, 24
105105 identified in § 16-117-2, that individuals may receive assistance for under this chapter. 25
106106 16-117-7. Reporting 26
107107 (a) By August 1, 2026, and annually by August 1 thereafter, OPC shall provide an 27
108108 evaluation of the fund to the speaker of the house, senate president, and the governor. The 28
109109 evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, the following: 29
110110 (1) The number of individuals whose request for tuition assistance under this chapter was 30
111111 approved; 31
112112 (2) The actual dollar amount paid for tuition assistance in the previous year; 32
113113 (3) The shortage teaching area for which individuals received tuition assistance; and 33
114114 (4) The name of the postsecondary institution(s) the individual attended. 34
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118118 (b) Reporting required under this section shall take extreme care to maintain the privacy of 1
119119 the individuals requesting and/or receiving tuition assistance under this chapter. 2
120120 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 3
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127127 EXPLANATION
128128 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
129129 OF
130130 A N A C T
131131 RELATING TO EDUCATION -- POSTSECONDARY TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR
132132 SHORTAGE TEACHING FIELDS
133133 ***
134134 This act would create postsecondary tuition assistance for shortage teaching fields which 1
135135 are defined as subject areas or teacher certifications that are experiencing a critical lack of educators 2
136136 in the state such as any sciences grades seven (7) through twelve (12) and any mathematics grades 3
137137 seven (7) through twelve (12). Recipients of tuition assistance would have to be enrolled, or 4
138138 accepted for enrollment at a Rhode Island postsecondary institution in a program to become a 5
139139 teacher in a shortage field and complete at least three (3) years of full-time teaching in a shortage 6
140140 teaching field in this state. 7
141141 This act would take effect upon passage. 8
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