Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0448 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2025 -- S 0448
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7	7	LC001007
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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 Murray, Urso, DiPalma, Kallman, Thompson, and Bell
18	18	Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
19	19	Referred To: Senate Finance
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22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The 1
24	24	Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. 3
26	26	In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent 4
27	27	foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for: 5
28	28	(a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when 6
29	29	an individual special education student’s cost shall be deemed to be “extraordinary.” Extraordinary 7
30	30	costs are those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount 8
31	31	above four times the core foundation amount (total of core instruction amount plus student success 9
32	32	amount). The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 10
33	33	for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 11
34	34	districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year; 12
35	35	and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those 13
36	36	educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three 14
37	37	(3), and five (5) times the core foundation amount; 15
38	38	(b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements 16
39	39	needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education 17
40	40	programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher-18
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44	44	than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies 1
45	45	necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. 2
46	46	The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical 3
47	47	education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department 4
48	48	of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among 5
49	49	those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking 6
50	50	reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 7
51	51	(c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. 8
52	52	The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood 9
53	53	program funds as may be determined by the general assembly; 10
54	54	(d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure 11
55	55	that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls 12
56	56	is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. 13
57	57	This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside 14
58	58	the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, 15
59	59	facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of 16
60	60	Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city 17
61	61	appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current 18
62	62	state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined 19
63	63	in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional 20
64	64	support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a 21
65	65	stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The 22
66	66	department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as 23
67	67	may be determined by the general assembly; 24
68	68	(e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. 25
69	69	This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of-26
70	70	district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of 27
71	71	non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. 28
72	72	The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for 29
73	73	distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school 30
74	74	districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year; 31
75	75	(f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This 32
76	76	fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students 33
77	77	within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires 34
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81	81	that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any 1
82	82	federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary 2
83	83	education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if 3
84	84	the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount 4
85	85	of funding available in any fiscal year; 5
86	86	(g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus 6
87	87	as set forth below: 7
88	88	(1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school 8
89	89	district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 9
90	90	School district; 10
91	91	(2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus 11
92	92	shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the 12
93	93	regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a 13
94	94	regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional 14
95	95	School District; 15
96	96	(3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the 16
97	97	state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 17
98	98	§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 18
99	99	(4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the 19
100	100	state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to 20
101	101	§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year; 21
102	102	(5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year; 22
103	103	(6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to 23
104	104	the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and 24
105	105	(7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available 25
106	106	for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for 26
107	107	which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of 27
108	108	funding appropriated in any fiscal year; 28
109	109	(h) [Deleted by P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 8, § 1.] 29
110	110	(i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school 30
111	111	resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority 31
112	112	who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing 32
113	113	assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have 33
114	114	completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an 34
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118	118	accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, 1
119	119	school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct 2
120	120	state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. 3
121	121	Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of 4
122	122	salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource 5
123	123	officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that: 6
124	124	(1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school: 7
125	125	(i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand two hundred (1,200) students shall 8
126	126	require one school resource officer; 9
127	127	(ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand two hundred (1,200) or more students shall 10
128	128	require two school resource officers; 11
129	129	(2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be 12
130	130	eligible for reimbursement; and 13
131	131	(3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new 14
132	132	positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and 15
133	133	(j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to 16
134	134	the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. 17
135	135	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 18
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142	142	EXPLANATION
143	143	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
144	144	OF
145	145	A N A C T
146	146	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX
147	147	RELIEF ACT
148	148	***
149	149	This act would remove the language that requires the department of elementary and 1
150	150	secondary education to prorate funds available for distribution among school districts if the total 2
151	151	approved costs of sought after reimbursement exceeds the amount of funding appropriated in any 3
152	152	fiscal year. This act would also eliminate the funding of the categorical programs pursuant to the 4
153	153	transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. 5
154	154	This act would take effect upon passage. 6
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156	156	LC001007
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