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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0753 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002124 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' TENURE |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators Valverde, DiMario, Euer, and Zurier |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Labor & Gaming |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Section 16-13-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-13 entitled "Teachers’ 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Tenure" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 16-13-3. Probationary period — Tenure after probation. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) Three (3) annual contracts within five (5) successive school years shall be considered 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | evidence of satisfactory teaching and shall constitute a probationary period. Teachers who complete 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | the probationary period shall be considered in continuous service and shall not be subject to annual 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | renewal or nonrenewal of their contracts. No tenured teacher in continuous service shall be 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | dismissed except for good and just cause. Whenever a tenured teacher in continuous service is to 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | be dismissed, the notice of the dismissal shall be given to the teacher, in writing, on or before March 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal is to become 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | effective. If the dismissal is based on fiscal exigency or program reorganization, the notice of 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | dismissal shall be given to the teacher, in writing, on or before June 1 of the school year 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal is to become effective. If the 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | dismissal is based on gross misconduct by a teacher upon a student, then notice of the dismissal 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | shall not be subject to any deadline nor constrained by any calendar date. The teacher shall be 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | furnished with a complete statement of the cause(s) for the dismissal by the governing body of the 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | school and shall be entitled to a hearing and appeal pursuant to the procedure set forth in § 16-13-17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 4. 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or at any time to have 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002124 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | prohibited, a school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | arbitration of disputes arising out of the dismissal of a tenured teacher pursuant to subsection (a) of 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | this section. 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (c) Any teacher employed by a local or regional school committee who has attained tenure 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | in a Rhode Island public school system; who is appointed to an administrative position of principal, 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | assistant principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent, director, or other central 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | office personnel in any Rhode Island public school system, including the original school district of 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | employment; or who is hired for an administrative position as a fellow, education specialist, or 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | director by the Rhode Island department of education, shall be granted an unpaid leave of absence, 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | not to exceed three (3) years, in order to be employed in an administrative position of principal, 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | assistant principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent, director, or other central 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | office personnel in any Rhode Island school system or the Rhode Island department of education. 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | Said teachers shall, upon completion of their administrative position employment contract, or 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | termination or resignation of the administrative position, be allowed to return to his or her former 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | status as a tenured teacher within the system from which the leave of absence was taken. Such 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | leaves of absence shall not be deemed to be an interruption of service for the purposes of seniority 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | and teacher retirement. 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | ======== |
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| 63 | 63 | | LC002124 |
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| 64 | 64 | | ======== |
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| 65 | 65 | | |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | LC002124 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 68 | 68 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 69 | 69 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 70 | 70 | | OF |
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| 71 | 71 | | A N A C T |
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| 72 | 72 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' TENURE |
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| 73 | 73 | | *** |
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| 74 | 74 | | This act would allow the dismissal of a teacher after the March 1 deadline if there is gross 1 |
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| 75 | 75 | | misconduct by a teacher upon a student. This act would allow the notice to be given at any time 2 |
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| 76 | 76 | | and will not have any time constraints. 3 |
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| 77 | 77 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ======== |
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| 79 | 79 | | LC002124 |
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