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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0861 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001467 |
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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 -- THE PAUL W. CROWLEY RHODE ISLAND STUDENT |
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| 16 | 16 | | INVESTMENT INITIATIVE |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senator Samuel D. Zurier |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: March 21, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Education |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 16-7.1-5.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.1 entitled "The Paul 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | W. Crowley Rhode Island Student Investment Initiative [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 16-7.1-5.2. State intervention in the Providence public school district — Additional 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | requirements. 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (a) For the duration of the effective period of the order of reconstitution and control, any 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | collective bargaining agreement entered into on behalf of the Providence public school district shall 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | not take effect until ratified by the council on elementary and secondary education at a public 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | hearing held no earlier than seven (7) days after the terms of a tentative agreement ratified by the 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | union are made public. 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (b) When authorized by the board of regents, the commissioner shall designate a receiver 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | for the Providence public school district with all the powers of the superintendent and school 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | committee. The receiver shall be a nonprofit entity or an individual with a demonstrated record of 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | success in improving low-performing schools or districts or the academic performance of 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | disadvantaged students who shall report directly to the commissioner. An external receiver 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | designated by the board to operate a district under this subsection shall have full managerial and 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | operational control over such district; provided, however, that the school district shall remain the 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | employer of record for all other purposes. A receiver shall be subject to chapter 2 of title 38 (“access 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC001467 - Page 2 of 10 |
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| 44 | 44 | | to public records”) and the Rhode Island code of ethics. A receiver for a chronically 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | underperforming district shall not be required by contract to indemnify and hold harmless the state 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | against any and all claims, liabilities and costs which arise out of the receiver's performance of its 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | role in the creation or implementation of the turnaround plan. In connection with the performance 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | of its role in the creation or implementation of the turnaround plan, the receiver may: 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (1) Sue and be sued only to the same extent and upon the same conditions that a 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | municipality may be sued; 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (2) Receive and disburse funds for the chronically underperforming district; and 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (3) Solicit and accept grants or gifts for the district. 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | Not more than two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the total number of school districts may 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | be designated for management by a receiver at any given time. 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (c) The commissioner and the receiver shall jointly create a turnaround plan to promote the 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | rapid improvement of the chronically underperforming district. The plan shall specifically focus on 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | the school or schools in the district that have been designated as chronically underperforming under 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | subsection (m) of this section and the district policies or practices that have contributed to chronic 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | underperformance. Before creating the turnaround plan required in this subsection, the 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | commissioner and receiver shall convene a local stakeholder group of not more than thirteen (13) 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | individuals for the purpose of soliciting recommendations on the content of such plan in order to 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | maximize the rapid improvement of the academic achievement of students. The commissioner shall 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | provide due consideration to the recommendations of the local stakeholder group. The group shall 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | include: 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (1) The superintendent, or designee; 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (2) The chair of the school committee, or designee; 23 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (3) The president of the local teacher's union, or designee; 24 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (4) A selection of administrators from the district, chosen by the commissioner from among 25 |
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| 69 | 69 | | volunteers from the district; 26 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (5) A selection of teachers from the district, chosen by the local teacher's union; 27 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (6) A selection of parents from the district chosen by the local parent organization; 28 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (7) Representatives of applicable state and local social service, health, and child welfare 29 |
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| 73 | 73 | | agencies chosen by the commissioner; 30 |
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| 74 | 74 | | (8) As appropriate, representatives of state and local workforce development agencies 31 |
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| 75 | 75 | | chosen by the commissioner; 32 |
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| 76 | 76 | | (9) A representative of an early education and care provider chosen by the commissioner 33 |
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| 77 | 77 | | of the department of early education and care, or for middle or high schools, a representative of the 34 |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | LC001467 - Page 3 of 10 |
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| 81 | 81 | | higher education community selected by the secretary of education; and 1 |
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| 82 | 82 | | (10) A member of the community appointed by the chief executive of the city or town. If 2 |
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| 83 | 83 | | the district does not have a parent organization or if the organization does not select a parent, the 3 |
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| 84 | 84 | | commissioner shall select a volunteer parent of a student from the district. The commissioner and 4 |
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| 85 | 85 | | receiver shall convene the group within thirty (30) days of the board designating a district as 5 |
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| 86 | 86 | | chronically underperforming and the group shall make its recommendations to the commissioner 6 |
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| 87 | 87 | | and receiver within forty-five (45) days of its initial meetings. Meetings of the local stakeholder 7 |
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| 88 | 88 | | group shall be open to the public and the recommendations submitted to the commissioner and 8 |
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| 89 | 89 | | receiver shall be publicly available immediately upon their submission. 9 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (d) In creating the turnaround plan, the commissioner and receiver shall include measures 10 |
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| 91 | 91 | | intended to maximize the rapid improvement of the academic achievement of students in the district 11 |
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| 92 | 92 | | and shall, to the extent practicable, base the plan on student outcome data including, but not limited 12 |
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| 93 | 93 | | to: 13 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (1) Student achievement on the Rhode Island comprehensive assessment system; 14 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (2) Other measures of student achievement, approved by the commissioner; 15 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (3) Student promotion and graduation rates; 16 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (4) Achievement data for different subgroups of students, including low-income students 17 |
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| 98 | 98 | | as provided in chapter 70 of title 16, English learners and students receiving special education; and 18 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (5) Student attendance, dismissal rates and exclusion rates. 19 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (e) In creating the turnaround plan required in subsection (c) of this section, the 20 |
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| 101 | 101 | | commissioner and receiver shall include, after considering the recommendations of the local 21 |
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| 102 | 102 | | stakeholder group, the following: 22 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (1) Steps to address social service and health needs of students in the district and their 23 |
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| 104 | 104 | | families in order to help students arrive and remain at school ready to learn; provided, however, 24 |
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| 105 | 105 | | that this may include mental health and substance abuse screening; 25 |
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| 106 | 106 | | (2) Steps to improve or expand child welfare services and, as appropriate, law enforcement 26 |
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| 107 | 107 | | services in the school district community, in order to promote a safe and secure learning 27 |
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| 108 | 108 | | environment; 28 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (3) As applicable, steps to improve workforce development services provided to students 29 |
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| 110 | 110 | | in the district and their families in order to provide students and families with meaningful 30 |
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| 111 | 111 | | employment skills and opportunities; 31 |
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| 112 | 112 | | (4) Steps to address achievement gaps for English learners, special education students and 32 |
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| 113 | 113 | | low-income, as applicable; 33 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (5) English language acquisition programs for English learners; and 34 |
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| 115 | 115 | | |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | LC001467 - Page 4 of 10 |
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| 118 | 118 | | (6) A budget for the district including any additional funds to be provided by the state of 1 |
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| 119 | 119 | | Rhode Island, federal government or other sources. The secretaries of health and human services, 2 |
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| 120 | 120 | | public safety labor and training and other applicable state and local social service, health and child 3 |
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| 121 | 121 | | welfare officials shall coordinate with the commissioner regarding the implementation of strategies 4 |
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| 122 | 122 | | pursuant to subsections (e)(1) to (e)(3), inclusive, of this subsection that are included in an 5 |
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| 123 | 123 | | turnaround plan and shall, subject to appropriation, reasonably support the implementation 6 |
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| 124 | 124 | | consistent with the requirements of state and federal law applicable to the relevant programs that 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | each such official is responsible for administering. 8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | (f) In order to assess the district across multiple measures of district performance and 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | student success, the turnaround plan shall include measurable annual goals including, but not 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | limited to, the following: 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | (1) Student attendance, dismissal rates and exclusion rates; 12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | (2) Student safety and discipline; 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (3) Student promotion and graduation and dropout rates; 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (4) Student achievement on the Rhode Island comprehensive assessment system; 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (5) Progress in areas of academic underperformance; 16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (6) Progress among subgroups of students, including low-income students, English learners 17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | and students receiving special education; 18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (7) Reduction of achievement gaps among different groups of students; 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (8) Student acquisition and mastery of 21st-century skills; 20 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (9) Development of college readiness, including at the elementary and middle school 21 |
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| 139 | 139 | | levels; 22 |
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| 140 | 140 | | (10) Parent and family engagement; 23 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (11) Building a culture of academic success among students; 24 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (12) Building a culture of student support and success among faculty and staff; and 25 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (13) Developmentally appropriate child assessments from pre-kindergarten through third 26 |
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| 144 | 144 | | grade, if applicable. 27 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (g) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in creating the turnaround 28 |
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| 146 | 146 | | plan under subsection (c) of this section, the commissioner and the receiver may, after considering 29 |
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| 147 | 147 | | the recommendations of the group of stakeholders: 30 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (1) Expand, alter or replace the curriculum and program offerings of the district or of a 31 |
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| 149 | 149 | | school in the district, including the implementation of research-based early literacy programs, early 32 |
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| 150 | 150 | | interventions for struggling readers and the teaching of advanced placement courses or other 33 |
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| 151 | 151 | | rigorous nationally or internationally recognized courses, if the district or schools in the district do 34 |
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| 152 | 152 | | |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | LC001467 - Page 5 of 10 |
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| 155 | 155 | | not already have such programs or courses; 1 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (2) Reallocate the uses of the existing budget of the district; 2 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (3) Provide funds, subject to appropriation, to increase the salary of an administrator, or 3 |
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| 158 | 158 | | teacher in the district working in an underperforming or chronically underperforming school, in 4 |
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| 159 | 159 | | order to attract or retain highly-qualified administrators, or teachers or to reward administrators or 5 |
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| 160 | 160 | | teachers who work in chronically underperforming districts that achieve the annual goals set forth 6 |
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| 161 | 161 | | in the turnaround plan; 7 |
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| 162 | 162 | | (4) Expand the school day or school year or both of schools in the district; 8 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (5) Limit, suspend or change one or more provisions of any contract or collective 9 |
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| 164 | 164 | | bargaining agreement in the district, including the adoption of model provisions identified by the 10 |
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| 165 | 165 | | commissioner from among existing contracts or collective bargaining agreements in the state; 11 |
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| 166 | 166 | | provided, however, that the commissioner shall not reduce the compensation of an administrator, 12 |
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| 167 | 167 | | teacher or staff member unless the hours of the person are proportionately reduced; 13 |
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| 168 | 168 | | (6) Add pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes, if the district does not already 14 |
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| 169 | 169 | | have the classes; 15 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (7) Following consultation with applicable local unions, require the principal and all 16 |
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| 171 | 171 | | administrators, teachers and staff to reapply for their positions in the district, with full discretion 17 |
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| 172 | 172 | | vested in the receiver regarding any such reapplications turnaround plan; 18 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (8) Limit, suspend or change one or more school district policies or practices, as such 19 |
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| 174 | 174 | | policies or practices relate to the underperforming schools in the district; 20 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (9) Include a provision of job-embedded professional development for teachers in the 21 |
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| 176 | 176 | | district, with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback; 22 |
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| 177 | 177 | | (10) Provide for increased opportunities for teacher planning time and collaboration 23 |
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| 178 | 178 | | focused on improving student instruction; 24 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (11) Establish a plan for professional development for administrators in the district, with 25 |
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| 180 | 180 | | an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skills and use the principles of distributive 26 |
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| 181 | 181 | | leadership; 27 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (12) Establish steps to ensure a continuum of high expertise teachers by aligning the 28 |
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| 183 | 183 | | following processes with the common core of professional knowledge and skill: hiring, induction, 29 |
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| 184 | 184 | | teacher evaluation, professional development, teacher advancement, school culture and 30 |
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| 185 | 185 | | organizational structure; 31 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (13) Develop a strategy to search for and study best practices in areas of demonstrated 32 |
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| 187 | 187 | | deficiency in the district; 33 |
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| 188 | 188 | | (14) Establish strategies to address mobility and transiency among the student population 34 |
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| 189 | 189 | | |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | LC001467 - Page 6 of 10 |
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| 192 | 192 | | of the district; and 1 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (15) Include additional components, at the discretion of the commissioner and the receiver, 2 |
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| 194 | 194 | | based on the reasons the district was designated as chronically underperforming and based on the 3 |
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| 195 | 195 | | recommendations of the local stakeholder group in subsection (c) of this section. 4 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (i) If the commissioner does not approve a reapplication submitted by an employee 5 |
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| 197 | 197 | | pursuant to subsection (g)(7) of this section for a position in a school or if an employee does not 6 |
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| 198 | 198 | | submit a reapplication for a position in a school, the employee shall retain such rights as may be 7 |
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| 199 | 199 | | provided under law or any applicable collective bargaining agreement in relation to the employee's 8 |
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| 200 | 200 | | ability to fill another position in the district; provided, however, the employee shall not have the 9 |
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| 201 | 201 | | right to displace any teacher with professional teacher status in any other school during a school 10 |
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| 202 | 202 | | year. 11 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (ii) A teacher with professional teacher status in a school declared underperforming or 12 |
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| 204 | 204 | | chronically underperforming may be dismissed for good cause; provided, however, the teacher 13 |
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| 205 | 205 | | receives five (5) days written notice of the decision to terminate which shall include, without 14 |
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| 206 | 206 | | limitation, an explanation of the reason why the commissioner/superintendent is not retaining the 15 |
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| 207 | 207 | | teacher in the school; provided, further, that the teacher may seek review of a termination decision 16 |
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| 208 | 208 | | within five (5) days after receiving notice of the teacher's termination by filing a petition for 17 |
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| 209 | 209 | | expedited arbitration with the commissioner; provided, further, that except as otherwise provided 18 |
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| 210 | 210 | | in, § 16-13-4 shall apply to a petition filed pursuant to this section; provided, further, that the 19 |
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| 211 | 211 | | commissioner shall cause an arbitrator to be selected pursuant to the procedures in § 16-13-4 within 20 |
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| 212 | 212 | | three (3) days of receipt of petition and shall conduct and complete a hearing within ten (10) days 21 |
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| 213 | 213 | | of receipt of the petition; provided, further, that in reviewing dismissal decisions, the arbitrator shall 22 |
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| 214 | 214 | | consider the components of the turnaround plan and shall also consider any personnel evaluations; 23 |
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| 215 | 215 | | and provided, further, that the arbitrator's decision shall be issued within ten (10) days from the 24 |
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| 216 | 216 | | completion of the hearing. 25 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (iii) For a district with English language learners, the professional development and 26 |
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| 218 | 218 | | planning time for teachers and administrators as provided in subsections (g)(9) through (g)(11) of 27 |
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| 219 | 219 | | this section shall include specific strategies and content designed to maximize the rapid academic 28 |
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| 220 | 220 | | achievement of English language learners in the district. 29 |
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| 221 | 221 | | (h) If, after considering the recommendations of the group of stakeholders, pursuant to 30 |
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| 222 | 222 | | subsection (g) of this section, the commissioner considers it necessary to maximize the rapid 31 |
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| 223 | 223 | | academic achievement of students at an underperforming or chronically underperforming school 32 |
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| 224 | 224 | | by altering the compensation, hours and working conditions of the administrators, teachers, 33 |
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| 225 | 225 | | principals and staff at the school or by altering other provisions of a contract or collective 34 |
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| 226 | 226 | | |
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| 227 | 227 | | |
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| 228 | 228 | | LC001467 - Page 7 of 10 |
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| 229 | 229 | | bargaining agreement applicable to the administrators, teachers, principals and staff, the 1 |
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| 230 | 230 | | commissioner may request that the school committee and any union bargain or reopen the 2 |
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| 231 | 231 | | bargaining of the relevant collective bargaining agreements to facilitate such achievement. The 3 |
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| 232 | 232 | | bargaining shall be conducted in good faith and completed not later than thirty (30) days from the 4 |
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| 233 | 233 | | point at which the commissioner requested that the parties bargain. The agreement shall be subject 5 |
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| 234 | 234 | | to ratification within ten (10) business days by the bargaining unit members in the school. If the 6 |
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| 235 | 235 | | parties are unable to reach an agreement within thirty (30) days or if the agreement is not ratified 7 |
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| 236 | 236 | | within ten (10) business days by the bargaining unit members of the school, the parties shall submit 8 |
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| 237 | 237 | | remaining unresolved issues to a joint resolution committee for dispute resolution process on the 9 |
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| 238 | 238 | | next business day following the end of the thirty (30) day bargaining period or failure to ratify. The 10 |
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| 239 | 239 | | joint resolution committee shall be comprised of three (3) members, one of whom shall be 11 |
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| 240 | 240 | | appointed by the employee organization within three (3) business days following the submission 12 |
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| 241 | 241 | | of unresolved issues to the joint resolution committee, one of whom shall be appointed by the board 13 |
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| 242 | 242 | | of regents within three (3) business days following the submission of unresolved issues to the joint 14 |
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| 243 | 243 | | resolution committee and one who shall be selected through the American Arbitration Association 15 |
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| 244 | 244 | | who shall forthwith forward to the parties a list of three (3) conciliators, each of whom shall have 16 |
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| 245 | 245 | | professional experience in elementary and secondary education, from which the parties may agree 17 |
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| 246 | 246 | | upon a single conciliator; provided, however, that if the parties cannot select a conciliator from 18 |
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| 247 | 247 | | among the three (3) within three (3) business days, the American Arbitration Association shall 19 |
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| 248 | 248 | | select a conciliator from the remaining names. The joint resolution committee shall conduct a 20 |
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| 249 | 249 | | dispute resolution process to be concluded within ten (10) business days of selection. This process 21 |
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| 250 | 250 | | shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association and 22 |
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| 251 | 251 | | consistent with this section; provided however, that all members of the joint resolution committee 23 |
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| 252 | 252 | | must agree to any resolution. The fee for the process shall be shared equally between the two (2) 24 |
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| 253 | 253 | | parties involved. The joint resolution committee shall consider the positions of the parties, the 25 |
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| 254 | 254 | | designation of the school as underperforming or chronically underperforming, the designation of 26 |
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| 255 | 255 | | the district as chronically underperforming, and the needs of the students in the school. 27 |
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| 256 | 256 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the unanimous decision of the joint resolution 28 |
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| 257 | 257 | | committee shall be dispositive of all the issues in dispute and shall be submitted to the parties within 29 |
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| 258 | 258 | | ten (10) business days of the close of the hearing. Under no circumstance, shall a time extension be 30 |
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| 259 | 259 | | granted beyond ten (10) business days of the close of the hearing. In the event that a unanimous 31 |
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| 260 | 260 | | decision is not submitted to the parties within ten (10) business days, the commissioner shall resolve 32 |
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| 261 | 261 | | all outstanding issues. 33 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (i) The turnaround plan shall be authorized for a period of not more than three (3) years, 34 |
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| 263 | 263 | | |
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| 264 | 264 | | |
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| 265 | 265 | | LC001467 - Page 8 of 10 |
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| 266 | 266 | | subject to subsection (k) of this section. The commissioner and receiver may jointly develop 1 |
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| 267 | 267 | | additional components of the plan and shall jointly develop annual goals for each component of the 2 |
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| 268 | 268 | | plan in a manner consistent with the provisions of subsection (g) of this section. The receiver shall 3 |
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| 269 | 269 | | be responsible for meeting the goals of the turnaround plan. 4 |
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| 270 | 270 | | (j) The commissioner and receiver shall provide a written report to the school committee 5 |
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| 271 | 271 | | on a quarterly basis to provide specific information about the progress being made on the 6 |
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| 272 | 272 | | implementation of the district's turnaround plan. One of the quarterly reports shall be the annual 7 |
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| 273 | 273 | | evaluation required in subsection (g) of this section. 8 |
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| 274 | 274 | | (k)(1) The commissioner shall evaluate the performance of the receiver on not less than an 9 |
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| 275 | 275 | | annual basis. The purpose of such evaluation shall be to assess the implementation of the 10 |
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| 276 | 276 | | turnaround plan and determine whether the district has met the annual goals contained in the 11 |
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| 277 | 277 | | turnaround plan. The evaluation shall be in writing and submitted to the board and the local school 12 |
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| 278 | 278 | | committee no later than July 1 for the preceding school year. 13 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (2) If the commissioner determines that the district has met the annual performance goals 14 |
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| 280 | 280 | | stated in the turnaround plan, the evaluation shall be considered sufficient and the implementation 15 |
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| 281 | 281 | | of the turnaround plan shall continue. 16 |
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| 282 | 282 | | (3) If the commissioner determines that the receiver has not met one or more goals in the 17 |
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| 283 | 283 | | plan and the failure to meet the goals may be corrected through reasonable modification of the plan, 18 |
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| 284 | 284 | | the commissioner may amend the turnaround plan, as necessary. After assessing the 19 |
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| 285 | 285 | | implementation of the turnaround plan in the district, the commissioner may amend the plan if the 20 |
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| 286 | 286 | | commissioner determines that the amendment is necessary in view of subsequent changes in the 21 |
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| 287 | 287 | | district that affect one or more components of the plan including, but not limited to, changes to 22 |
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| 288 | 288 | | contracts, collective bargaining agreements, or school district policies, in a manner consistent with 23 |
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| 289 | 289 | | the provisions of subsection (g) of this section. If the commissioner determines that the receiver 24 |
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| 290 | 290 | | has substantially failed to meet multiple goals in the turnaround plan, the commissioner may 25 |
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| 291 | 291 | | terminate such receiver; provided, however, that the termination shall not occur before the 26 |
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| 292 | 292 | | completion of the first full school year of the receivership of the district. 27 |
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| 293 | 293 | | (l) After the period of receivership, there shall be a reevaluation of a district's status under 28 |
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| 294 | 294 | | this section. The board of elementary and secondary education shall adopt regulations providing 29 |
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| 295 | 295 | | for: 30 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (1) The removal of a designation of a district as chronically underperforming; and 31 |
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| 297 | 297 | | (2) The transfer of the operation of a chronically underperforming district from an external 32 |
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| 298 | 298 | | receiver to the superintendent and school committee, based on the improvement of the district. The 33 |
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| 299 | 299 | | regulations shall include provisions to allow a district to retain measures adopted in a turnaround 34 |
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| 300 | 300 | | |
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| 301 | 301 | | |
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| 302 | 302 | | LC001467 - Page 9 of 10 |
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| 303 | 303 | | plan for a transitional period if, in the judgment of the commissioner, the measures would contribute 1 |
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| 304 | 304 | | to the continued improvement of the district. Such regulations shall also include provisions that 2 |
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| 305 | 305 | | clearly identify the conditions under which such a transitional period shall end and the powers 3 |
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| 306 | 306 | | granted to the commissioner and board under this section shall cease to apply to a district previously 4 |
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| 307 | 307 | | designated as chronically underperforming. At any time after a chronically underperforming district 5 |
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| 308 | 308 | | has been placed in receivership, the school committee of the district may petition the commissioner 6 |
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| 309 | 309 | | for a determination as to whether the turnaround plan adopted under subsection (c) of this section 7 |
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| 310 | 310 | | should be modified or eliminated and whether the school district shall no longer be designated as 8 |
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| 311 | 311 | | chronically underperforming. The decision of the commissioner shall be based on regulations 9 |
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| 312 | 312 | | adopted by the board. A school committee may seek review by the board of elementary and 10 |
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| 313 | 313 | | secondary education of an adverse determination. 11 |
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| 314 | 314 | | (m) If, on the basis of the regulations adopted by the board pursuant to subsection (l) of 12 |
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| 315 | 315 | | this section, a district has not improved sufficiently to remove the designation of the district as 13 |
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| 316 | 316 | | chronically underperforming, the commissioner may jointly determine subsequent annual goals for 14 |
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| 317 | 317 | | each component of the turnaround plan with the receiver and renew the turnaround plan for an 15 |
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| 318 | 318 | | additional period of not more than three (3) years, or create a new turnaround plan, consistent with 16 |
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| 319 | 319 | | the requirements of this section. 17 |
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| 320 | 320 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 18 |
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| 321 | 321 | | ======== |
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| 322 | 322 | | LC001467 |
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| 323 | 323 | | ======== |
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| 324 | 324 | | |
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| 325 | 325 | | |
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| 326 | 326 | | LC001467 - Page 10 of 10 |
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| 327 | 327 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 328 | 328 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 329 | 329 | | OF |
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| 330 | 330 | | A N A C T |
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| 331 | 331 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE PAUL W. CROWLEY RHOD E ISLAND STUDENT |
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| 332 | 332 | | INVESTMENT INITIATIVE |
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| 333 | 333 | | *** |
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| 334 | 334 | | This act would allow the education commissioner, when authorized by the board of regents, 1 |
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| 335 | 335 | | to designate a receiver for the Providence public school district with all the powers of the 2 |
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| 336 | 336 | | superintendent and school committee. 3 |
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| 337 | 337 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 338 | 338 | | ======== |
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| 339 | 339 | | LC001467 |
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| 340 | 340 | | ======== |
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| 341 | 341 | | |
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