2012 -- S 2709

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LC01825

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - MAYORAL ACADEMIES

     Introduced By: Senators Jabour, Metts, Miller, and Perry

     Date Introduced: March 06, 2012

     Referred To: Senate Education

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 16-77.4-1, 16-77.4-5, 16-77.4-7 and 16-77.4-8 of the General

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Laws in Chapter 16-77.4 entitled "Mayoral Academies" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     16-77.4-1. Entities eligible to apply to become a mayoral academy. -- (a) A "mayoral

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academy" means a charter school created by a mayor of any city or town within the State of

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Rhode Island, acting by or through a nonprofit organization established for said purpose

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(regardless of the time said nonprofit organization is in existence), which enrolls students from

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more than one city or town including both urban and non-urban communities and in which the

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student demographics of the city or town including race, ethnicity, eligibility for the federal free

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and reduced lunch program, limited English proficient students, special education classifications

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are represented to the maximum extent practicable which offers an equal number of enrollments

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to students on a lottery basis; provided, further, that such mayoral academies shall have a board of

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trustees or directors which is comprised of representatives from each included city or town and is

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chaired by a mayor of an included city or town. For purposes of this chapter the term "mayor"

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shall include any elected town administrator.

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      (b) No child shall be required to attend a mayoral academy nor shall any teacher be

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required to teach in a mayoral academy. The school committee of the district in which a mayoral

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academy is located shall make accommodations to facilitate the transfer of students who do not

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wish to participate in a mayoral academy into other public schools. It shall also make

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accommodations for those students who wish to transfer into the mayoral academy as space

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permits. If the total number of students who are eligible to attend and apply to a mayoral academy

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is greater than the number of spaces available, the mayoral academy shall conduct a lottery to

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determine which students shall be admitted.

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     16-77.4-5. Budgets and funding. -- (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that

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funding pursuant to this chapter shall be neither a financial incentive nor a financial disincentive

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to the establishment of a mayoral academy. Funding for each mayoral academy shall consist of

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seventy-five percent (75%) of the state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the same

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proportions that funding is provided for other schools within the sending school district(s). The

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sending school district shall retain twenty-five percent (25%) of the revenue for administration

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and operation costs that are higher than those of its mayoral academy counterpart.

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      (b) The amount of funding which shall be allocated to the mayoral academy by the

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sending school district(s) shall be equal to a percentage of the total budgeted expenses of the

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sending school district(s) which is determined by dividing the number of students enrolled in the

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mayoral academy by the total resident average daily number of students in the sending school

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district(s) less twenty-five percent (25%).

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      (c) Funding additional to that authorized from the sending school district(s) by

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subsection (b) may be allocated to the mayoral academy from the sending school district(s) to the

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extent that the combined percentage of students eligible for free or reduced cost lunch, students

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with limited English proficiency, and students requiring special education exceed the combined

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percentage of those students in the sending school district(s) as a whole. The commissioner shall

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promulgate rules and regulations consistent with this section regarding the allocation of funds

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from sending school districts to mayoral academies.

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      (d) A mayoral academy shall be eligible to receive other aids, grants, Medicaid revenue,

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and other revenue according to Rhode Island law, as though it were a school district. Federal aid

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received by the state shall be used to benefit students in a mayoral academy, if the school

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qualifies for the aid, as though it were a school district.

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      (e) A mayoral academy may negotiate and contract directly with third parties for the

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purchase of books, instructional materials, and any other goods and services which are not being

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provided by the sending school district(s) pursuant to the charter.

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      (f) Any career/technical charter public school enrolling special education students from

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outside school districts with verifiable individual education program (IEP) designations shall

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receive from the sending school district(s) the average per pupil special education cost of the

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sending district(s), in accordance with standards established by the Rhode Island department of

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elementary and secondary education.

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     16-77.4-7. Portions of title 16 applicable to mayoral academies. -- The following

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provisions of this title shall be binding on mayoral academies and may not be waived by the

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commissioner under section 16-77.4-3:

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      (1) Section 16-2-2 (minimum length of school year);

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      (2) Section 16-2-17 (right to a safe school);

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      (3) Section 16-8-10 (federal funds for school lunch);

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      (4) Section 16-11-1 (certification of public school teachers);

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      (5) Section 16-12-3 (duty to cultivate principles of morality);

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      (6) Section 16-12-10 (immunity for report of suspected substance abuse);

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      (7) Section 16-19-1 (compulsory attendance);

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      (8) Section 16-20-1 (school holidays enumerated);

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      (9) Sections 16-21-3 and 16-21-4 (fire safety);

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      (10) Sections 16-21-10, 16-21-14, and 16-21-16 (health screenings);

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      (11) Section 16-22-9 (uniform testing);

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      (12) Section 16-24-2 (regulations of state board);

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      (13) Section 16-38-1 (discrimination because of race or age);

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      (14) Section 16-38-1.1 (discrimination because of sex);

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      (15) Section 16-38-2 (immunizations);

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      (16) Section 16-38-4 (exclusive club);

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      (17) Section 16-38-6 (commercial activities prohibited);

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      (18) Section 16-38-9 (misconduct of school officers);

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      (19) Section 16-38-10 (power of officials to visit schools);

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      (20) Section 16-39-1 (appeal of matters of dispute to commissioner);

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      (21) Section 16-39-2 (appeal of school committee actions to commissioner);

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      (22) Section 16-39-3 (appeal to state board);

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      (23) Section 16-39-3.1 (enforcement of final decision);

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      (24) Section 16-39-3.2 (interim protective orders);

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      (25) Section 16-39-8 (subpoena power of commissioner);

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      (26) Section 16-40-16 (student records);

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      (27) Section 16-71-1 (Educational Record Bill of Rights Act);

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      (28) Section 16-21-21.1 (Penalties for drug, alcohol or weapons offenses);

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      (29) Chapter 16-21.5 (Student interrogations).;

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      (30) Chapter 16-16 (teacher’s retirement).

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     16-77.4-8. Mayoral academy reporting. -- (a) All mayoral academies shall continuously

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monitor their financial operations by tracking actual versus budgeted revenue and expense. The

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chief financial officer of a mayoral academy shall submit a report on a quarterly basis to the state

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office of municipal affairs certifying the status of that mayoral academy's budget. The quarterly

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reports shall be in a format prescribed by the state office of municipal affairs and the state auditor

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general. The reports shall contain a statement as to whether any actual or projected shortfalls in

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budget line items are expected to result in a year-end deficit, the projected impact on year-end

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financial results including all accruals and encumbrances, and how the mayoral academy plans to

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address any such shortfalls.

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      (b) The auditor general or the state director of administration may petition the superior

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court to order a mayoral academy to file said reports. The director of administration may also

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direct the state controller and general treasurer to withhold any funding to a mayoral academy

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until the school complies with the reporting requirements hereunder. Failure to comply with this

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section shall be cause for the revocation of the school charter.

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     (c) All mayoral academies shall report annually to the department of elementary and

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secondary education, senate president and speaker of the house regarding the number of students

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in each grade, demographics of that student and number of students who left the charter school

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during the school year by withdrawal, expulsion, other disciplinary action or any other

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circumstance and the placement of the student thereafter in each grade that the academies offer.

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The reporting date shall be determined by the commissioner of elementary and secondary

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education.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - MAYORAL ACADEMIES

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     This act would make various changes with regard to mayoral academies, including

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demographic requirement, funding structure, and reporting procedures. This act would also

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require state law relative to teachers’ retirement to be binding on mayoral academies.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01825

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