2014 -- S 2948

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LC005553

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Senators Satchell, Picard, Metts, Bates, and Gallo

     Date Introduced: May 01, 2014

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Findings:

     WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that remedial courses may be a deterrent

or an impediment to the completion of higher education degrees and certificates; and

     WHEREAS, One of the best practices in remediation consists of students’ enrollment in

college-level courses while simultaneously receiving remedial support aligned to the college-level

course(s); and

     WHEREAS, Completion of a set of credit bearing courses for a program of study is a

critical measure of success toward post-secondary higher education completion; and

     WHEREAS, The content in required courses should align with the program of study,

including, but not limited to, mathematics; and

     WHEREAS, Enrollment in entry college-level courses should be the default placement

for many more students than is current practice; and

     WHEREAS, Students who are significantly underprepared for college-level academics

require accelerated routes into programs of study through the use of programs, such as summer

intensive programs designed to remediate many areas of general education courses; and

     WHEREAS, Additional academic support should be integrated with a general education

college-level course as a co-requisite and not a prerequisite; and

     WHEREAS, The General Assembly is aware of the remedial writing pilot program

modeled after Baltimore Community College’s Accelerated Learning Program that is scheduled

to begin in the fall semester of 2014; therefore

     The General Assembly does hereby introduce the “Remediation Act of 2014.”

     SECTION 2. Chapter 16-33.1 of the General Laws entitled "Community College of

Rhode Island [ See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following section:

     16-33.1-7. Remediation in writing and reading reporting; new program design and

schedule for mathematics remediation. -- (a) The Community College of Rhode Island shall

report by March 1 and annually thereafter, to the president of the senate, speaker of the house of

representatives, governor and board of education the results of the pilot program for writing

remediation that is scheduled to begin in the fall semester of 2014. Included in the report shall be

a description of the pilot, the total number of students enrolled in the pilot, the number of those

students who successfully completed the credit bearing general education writing requirement,

number of students retained and for the number of semesters enrolled and any degrees or

certificates earned. Moreover, the report shall include the schedule for college-wide expansion of

the writing remediation program, if successful results are achieved. In addition, the report shall

include the schedule and description regarding the expansion of the program into reading

remediation.

     (b) The Community College of Rhode Island shall report by April 1, 2015 to the

president of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives, governor and board of education

with a proposal on a redesign of the mathematics remediation program. This report shall include a

description of the new delivery method(s) for mathematics remediation designed to further the

student in completion of credit bearing courses and certificate and degree earning programs, the

plan for implementation and the cost for implementation. The general assembly strongly

encourages the Community College of Rhode Island to begin a program for mathematics

remediation in the fall semester of 2016.

     SECTION 3. 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 - COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND

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     This act would create the “Remediation Act of 2014” which would create a pilot program

at CCRI for writing remediation and would mandate a report for the proposal on a redesign of the

mathematics remediation program.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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