Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0259 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- S 0259
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7	7	LC000722
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
16	16	RELIEF ACT
17	17	Introduced By: Senators Acosta, Gallo, Lawson, Valverde, DiMario, Zurier, Appollonio,
18	18	Felag, Murray, and Ciccone
19	19	Date Introduced: February 13, 2025
20	20	Referred To: Senate Finance
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23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The 1
25	25	Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
26	26	16-7.2-3. Permanent foundation education aid established. 3
27	27	(a) Beginning in the 2012 fiscal year, the following foundation education-aid formula shall 4
28	28	take effect. The foundation education aid for each district shall be the sum of the core instruction 5
29	29	amount in subsection (a)(1) of this section and the amount to support high-need students in 6
30	30	subsection (a)(2) of this section, which shall be multiplied by the district state-share ratio calculated 7
31	31	pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 to determine the foundation aid. 8
32	32	(1) The core instruction amount shall be an amount equal to a statewide, per-pupil core 9
33	33	instruction amount as established by the department of elementary and secondary education, 10
34	34	derived from the average of northeast regional expenditure data for the states of Rhode Island, 11
35	35	Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire from the National Center for Education Statistics 12
36	36	(NCES) that will adequately fund the student instructional needs as described in the basic education 13
37	37	program and multiplied by the district average daily membership as defined in § 16-7-22. 14
38	38	Expenditure data in the following categories: instruction and support services for students, 15
39	39	instruction, general administration, school administration, and other support services from the 16
40	40	National Public Education Financial Survey, as published by NCES, and enrollment data from the 17
41	41	Common Core of Data, also published by NCES, will be used when determining the core 18
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45	45	instruction amount. The core instruction amount will be updated annually. For the purpose of 1
46	46	calculating this formula, school districts’ resident average daily membership shall exclude charter 2
47	47	school and state-operated school students. 3
48	48	(2) The amount to support high-need students beyond the core instruction amount shall be 4
49	49	determined by: 5
50	50	(i) Multiplying a student success factor of forty percent (40%) by the core instruction per-6
51	51	pupil amount described in subsection (a)(1) of this section and applying that amount for each 7
52	52	resident child whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of 8
53	53	federal poverty guidelines, hereinafter referred to as “poverty status.” By October 1, 2022, as part 9
54	54	of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to state fiscal year 2024 and thereafter, the 10
55	55	department of elementary and secondary education shall develop and utilize a poverty measure that 11
56	56	in the department’s assessment most accurately serves as a proxy for the poverty status referenced 12
57	57	in this subsection and does not rely on the administration of school nutrition programs. The 13
58	58	department shall utilize this measure in calculations pursuant to this subsection related to the 14
59	59	application of the student success factor, in calculations pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 related to the 15
60	60	calculation of the state share ratio, and in the formulation of estimates pursuant to subsection (b) 16
61	61	below. The department may also include any recommendations which seek to mitigate any 17
62	62	disruptions associated with the implementation of this new poverty measure or improve the 18
63	63	accuracy of its calculation. Beginning with the FY 2024 calculation, students whose family income 19
64	64	is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines will be 20
65	65	determined by participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). The number 21
66	66	of students directly certified through the department of human services shall be multiplied by a 22
67	67	factor of 1.6;. Beginning with the FY 2026 calculation, a student's enrollment in Medicaid shall 23
68	68	also be included in the student success factor. The department of elementary and secondary 24
69	69	education shall utilize a student's enrollment in Medicaid in calculations pursuant to this subsection 25
70	70	related to the application of the student success factor, in calculations pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 related 26
71	71	to the calculation of the state share ratio, and in the formulation of estimates pursuant to subsection 27
72	72	(b) of this section; and 28
73	73	(ii) Multiplying a multilingual learner (MLL) factor of twenty percent (20%) by the core 29
74	74	instruction per-pupil amount described in subsection (a)(1) of this section, applying that amount 30
75	75	for each resident child identified in the three lowest proficiency categories using widely adopted, 31
76	76	independent standards and assessments in accordance with subsection (f)(1) of this section and as 32
77	77	identified by the commissioner and defined by regulations of the council on elementary and 33
78	78	secondary education. Local education agencies shall report annually to the department of 34
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82	82	elementary and secondary education by September 1, outlining the planned and prior year use of 1
83	83	all funding pursuant to this subsection to provide services to MLL students in accordance with 2
84	84	requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The 3
85	85	department shall review the use of funds to ensure consistency with established best practices. 4
86	86	(b) The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide an estimate of the 5
87	87	foundation education aid cost as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4. The estimate 6
88	88	shall include the most recent data available as well as an adjustment for average daily membership 7
89	89	growth or decline based on the prior year experience. 8
90	90	(c) In addition, the department shall report updated figures based on the average daily 9
91	91	membership as of October 1 by December 1. 10
92	92	(d) Local education agencies may set aside a portion of funds received under subsection 11
93	93	(a) to expand learning opportunities such as after school and summer programs, full-day 12
94	94	kindergarten and/or multiple pathway programs, provided that the basic education program and all 13
95	95	other approved programs required in law are funded. 14
96	96	(e) The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate such 15
97	97	regulations as are necessary to implement fully the purposes of this chapter. 16
98	98	(f)(1) By October 1, 2023, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to 17
99	99	state fiscal year 2025, the department of elementary and secondary education shall evaluate the 18
100	100	number of students by district who qualify as multilingual learner (MLL) students and MLL 19
101	101	students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal 20
102	102	poverty guidelines. The submission shall also include segmentation of these populations by levels 21
103	103	as dictated by the WIDA multilingual learner assessment tool used as an objective benchmark for 22
104	104	English proficiency. The department shall also prepare and produce expense data sourced from the 23
105	105	uniform chart of accounts to recommend funding levels required to support students at the various 24
106	106	levels of proficiency as determined by the WIDA assessment tool. Utilizing this information, the 25
107	107	department shall recommend a funding solution to meet the needs of multilingual learners; this may 26
108	108	include but not be limited to inclusion of MLL needs within the core foundation formula amount 27
109	109	through one or multiple weights to distinguish different students of need or through categorical 28
110	110	means. 29
111	111	(2) By October 1, 2024, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to 30
112	112	state fiscal year 2026, the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop 31
113	113	alternatives to identify students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent 32
114	114	(185%) of federal poverty guidelines through participation in state-administered programs, 33
115	115	including, but not limited to, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), and RIteCare 34
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119	119	and other programs that include the collection of required supporting documentation, and beginning 1
120	120	with the FY 2026 calculations, a student's enrollment in Medicaid. The department may also 2
121	121	include any recommendations that seek to mitigate any disruptions associated with implementation 3
122	122	of this new poverty measure or improve the accuracy of its calculation. 4
123	123	(3) The department shall also report with its annual budget request information regarding 5
124	124	local contributions to education aid and compliance with §§ 16-7-23 and 16-7-24. The report shall 6
125	125	also compare these local contributions to state foundation education aid by community. The 7
126	126	department shall also report compliance to each city or town school committee and city or town 8
127	127	council. 9
128	128	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 10
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135	135	EXPLANATION
136	136	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
137	137	OF
138	138	A N A C T
139	139	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
140	140	RELIEF ACT
141	141	***
142	142	This act would provide that a student's enrollment in Medicaid would be included in 1
143	143	calculating and determining the student success factor utilized to support high-need students 2
144	144	beyond the core instructional amount, for purposes of the foundation education-aid formula. This 3
145	145	would begin and be applied starting with the FY 2026 calculation. 4
146	146	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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