2025 -- S 0113
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LC000906
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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 -- RESIDENCE OF CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES
Introduced By: Senators Lawson, Britto, and Lauria
Date Introduced: January 31, 2025
Referred To: Senate Finance
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-64-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-64 entitled "Residence 1
of Children for School Purposes" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
16-64-1.1. Payment and reimbursement for educational costs of children placed in 3
foster care, group homes, or other residential facility by a Rhode Island state agency. 4
(a) Children placed in foster care by a Rhode Island-licensed child-placing agency or a 5
Rhode Island governmental agency shall be entitled to the same free, appropriate public education 6
provided to all other residents of the city or town where the child is placed. The city or town shall 7
pay the cost of the education of the child during the time the child is in foster care in the city or 8
town. 9
(b) Children placed by the department of children, youth and families (DCYF) in a group 10
home or other residential facility that does not include the delivery of educational services are to 11
be educated by the community in which the group home or other residential facility is located, and 12
those children shall be entitled to the same free, appropriate public education provided to all other 13
residents of the city or town where the child is placed. For purposes of payment and reimbursement 14
for educational costs under this chapter, the term “group home or other residential facility” shall 15
not include independent-living programs. Each city and town that contains one or more group 16
homes or other residential facilities that do not include delivery of educational services will receive 17
funds as part of state aid to education in accordance with the following provisions: 18
(1) On December 31 of each year, the DCYF shall provide the department of elementary 19
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and secondary education with a precise count of how many group home or other residential facility 1
“beds” exist in each Rhode Island city or town, counting only those “beds” in facilities that do not 2
include the delivery of educational services. The number of “beds” in each group home or other 3
residential facility shall be equal to the maximum number of children who may be placed in that 4
group home or other residential facility on any given night according to the applicable licensure 5
standards of the DCYF. 6
(2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, if the number of beds certified by DCYF for 7
a school district by December 31, 2007, is greater than the number certified March 14, 2007, upon 8
which the education aid for FY 2008 was appropriated, the education aid for that district will be 9
increased by the number of increased beds multiplied by fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). 10
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any law to the contrary, the education aid for all 11
group home or other residential facility “beds” located or associated with the Children’s Residential 12
and Family Treatment (CRAFT) program located on the East Providence campus of Bradley 13
Hospital shall be twenty-two thousand dollars ($22,000) per bed. The Department of Elementary 14
and Secondary Education shall include the additional aid in equal payments in March, April, May, 15
and June, and the Governor’s budget recommendations pursuant to § 35-3-8 shall include the 16
amounts required to provide the increased aid. 17
For all fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2016, education aid for each school district 18
shall include seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000) for each bed certified by DCYF by the preceding 19
December 31. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any law to the contrary, the 20
education aid for all group home or other residential facility “beds” located or associated with the 21
Children’s Residential and Family Treatment (CRAFT) program located on the East Providence 22
campus of Bradley Hospital shall be twenty-six thousand dollars ($26,000) per bed. For all fiscal 23
years beginning after June 30, 2008, whenever the number of beds certified by DCYF for a school 24
district by December 31 is greater than the number certified the prior December 31 upon which the 25
education aid for that fiscal year was appropriated, the education aid for that district as enacted by 26
the assembly during the prior legislative session for that fiscal year will be increased by the number 27
of increased beds multiplied by the amount per bed authorized for that fiscal year. The Department 28
of Elementary and Secondary Education shall include the additional aid in equal payments in 29
March, April, May, and June, and the Governor’s budget recommendations pursuant to § 35-3-8 30
shall include the amounts required to provide the increased aid. 31
(c) Children placed by DCYF in a residential-treatment program, group home, or other 32
residential facility, whether or not located in the state of Rhode Island, which includes the delivery 33
of educational services provided by that facility (excluding facilities where students are taught on 34
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grounds for periods of time by teaching staff provided by the school district in which the facility is 1
located), shall have the cost of their education paid for as provided for in subsection (d) and § 16-2
64-1.2. The city or town determined to be responsible to DCYF for a per-pupil special-education 3
cost pursuant to § 16-64-1.2 shall pay its share of the cost of educational services to DCYF or to 4
the facility providing educational services. 5
(d) Children placed by DCYF in group homes, child-caring facilities, community 6
residences, or other residential facilities shall have the entire cost of their education paid for by 7
DCYF if: 8
(1) The facility is operated by the state of Rhode Island or the facility has a contract with 9
DCYF to fund a pre-determined number of placements or part of the facility’s program; 10
(2) The facility is state licensed; and 11
(3) The facility operates an approved, on-grounds educational program, whether or not the 12
child attends the on-grounds program. 13
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other law, effective June 30, 2025, neither the 14
East Providence public schools nor the city of East Providence shall be responsible to provide any 15
educational or related services or instruction or have any financial responsibility for any student 16
attending the CRAFT program or other Bradley Hospital programs. The school district of origin 17
shall be responsible to provide and pay for such services and instruction consistent with applicable 18
state law and regulation. For purposes of this section, “school district of origin” means the school 19
district in which the student was last registered to attend prior to admission to a Bradley program. 20
The East Providence school district shall not be paid reimbursement as provided in this statute for 21
such students. 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 -- RESIDENCE OF CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES
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This act would relieve the East Providence public schools and the city of East Providence 1
from providing any educational or financial resources to children placed in the CRAFT program or 2
other Bradley Hospital programs. The school district of origin where the student was last registered 3
would bear this responsibility. 4
This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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