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art.011/8/011/7/011/6/011/5/011/4/011/3/011/2/011/1

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     ARTICLE 11 AS AMENDED

RELATING TO STRENGTHENING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS

     SECTION 1. Section 16-2-9.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-2 entitled "School

Committees and Superintendents" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-2-9.4. School district accounting compliance. -- (a) The office of auditor general

and the department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate a uniform system of

accounting, including a chart of accounts based on the recommendations of the advisory council

on school finance, and require all accounts of the school districts, regional school districts, state

schools, and charter schools to be kept in accordance therewith; provided, that in any case in

which the uniform system of accounting is not practicable, the office of auditor general, in

conjunction with the department of elementary and secondary education, shall determine the

manner in which the accounts shall be kept. The uniform chart of accounts (UCOA) must allow

for both school-to-school and school district-to-school district comparisons. The structure of the

UCOA shall ensure that data is captured and presented by, at a minimum, position, program and

school location in order to facilitate such comparisons. The uniform system of accounting shall

also include a standardized budget process to ensure districts can annually assess investment

priorities and incorporate long-range planning.

     (b) For the purpose of securing a uniform system of accounting and a chart of accounts

the advisory council on school finances, as defined in § 16-2-9.2 may make such surveys of the

operation of any school districts, regional school district, state school, or charter school as they

shall deem necessary.

     (c) Upon completion of the implementation of the uniform chart of accounts, all the

school districts, regional school districts, state schools, and/or charter schools, shall implement a

regents department of elementary and secondary education-approved budget model, that shall

include a distinct line item for payments to charter schools and use best practices established by

the department of elementary and secondary education for long-range planning, budget

development, and budget administration and reporting.

     (d) Commencing July 1, 2017, and on a continuing basis thereafter, each local education

agency shall submit a "budget only" file that conforms with UCOA requirements to the

department of elementary and secondary education within 30 days of the city/town adoption of

the budget.

     (e) Using data from the uniform chart of accounts, on an annual basis the department of

elementary and secondary education shall publish on its website and provide the general

assembly with a performance dashboard indicating the per-pupil expenditures of each public

school and school district broken down by revenue sources and expenditure categories. Further,

the department shall provide, within the same dashboard, student performance indicators for each

public school and school district.

     (f) Commencing July 1, 2017, and on a continuing basis thereafter, each local education

agency shall post the following information on its website in a downloadable format, for free

public access:

     (1) The local education agency's annual budget, commencing with the budget for the

2017-18 budget year, that includes, at a minimum, information at the program and school levels;

     (2) The local education agency shall post a link to the statewide website operated by the

department of elementary and secondary education which will publish the school and district

level "budget only" and UCOA expenditure data.

     (3) Each local education agency shall update the information specified in subsection (1)

of this section within sixty (60) days after adoption and/or making any changes to the local

education agency's budget, including any changes made to the budgets of an individual program

or school.

     (d)(g) If any school district, regional school district, state school, or charter school fails to

install and maintain the uniform system of accounting, including a chart of accounts and

approved budget model, or fails to keep its accounts and interdepartmental records, or refuses or

neglects to make the reports and to furnish the information in accordance with the method

prescribed by the office of auditor general and the department of education, or hinders or prevents

the examination of accounts and financial records, the auditor general and the commissioner of

education, and/or their respective designee(s), shall make a report to the superintendent of schools

of the local education agency, the school committee chairperson, the mayor or town manager, and

the president of the town council, and/or for a charter school, to the board of trustees or directors,

as applicable, in writing, specifying the nature and extent of the failure, refusal, neglect,

hindrance, or prevention, and the commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to review the

matter so reported. If the commissioner shall find that failure, refusal, neglect, hindrance, or

prevention exists and that the school district, regional school district, state school, or charter

school should properly comply in the matter so reported, the commissioner shall direct the school

district, regional school district, state school, or charter school, in writing, to so comply. If the

failure, refusal, neglect, hindrance, or prevention shall continue for a period of ten (10) days

following the written direction, the commissioner may request the board of education for

approval to withhold distribution of state aid to said school district, regional school district, state

school, or charter school. The board shall hold a hearing and provide the subject school and/or

district notice and an opportunity to be heard at said hearing. After hearing thereon, the board

may authorize the commissioner to withhold the distribution of state aid to said school district,

regional school district, state school, or charter school, if the board determines such sanction is

appropriate.

     (e)(h) The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the

division of municipal finance, shall conduct periodic reviews and analysis of school revenues and

expenses. The department shall also review and monitor compliance with the approved budget

model and best practices. The department shall identify those local education agencies considered

to be at risk of a year-end deficit or a structural deficit that could impact future years. Such

potential deficits shall be identified based on the periodic reviews, which may also include on-site

visits and reporting in accordance with the provisions of § 45-12-22.2. Potential deficits shall be

reported to the office of municipal finance, office of auditor general, superintendent, chairman of

the school committee, mayor or town manager, and the president of the town council, of the

applicable school district, regional school district, or state school, and/or for a charter school, to

the board of trustees or directors, as applicable.

     SECTION 2. Sections 16-7.2-3, 16-7.2-4, 16-7.2-5, and 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in

Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" are hereby amended

to read as follows:

     16-7.2-3. Permanent foundation education aid established. -- (a) Beginning in the

2012 fiscal year, the following foundation education aid formula shall take effect. The foundation

education aid for each district shall be the sum of the core instruction amount in (a)(1) and the

amount to support high need students in (a)(2), which shall be multiplied by the district state

share ratio calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 to determine the foundation aid.

     (1) The core instruction amount shall be an amount equal to a statewide per pupil core

instruction amount as established by the department of elementary and secondary education,

derived from the average of northeast regional expenditure data for the states of Rhode Island,

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire from the National Center for Education

Statistics (NCES) that will adequately fund the student instructional needs as described in the

basic education program and multiplied by the district average daily membership as defined in §

16-7-22. Expenditure data in the following categories: instruction and support services for

students, instruction, general administration, school administration and other support services

from the National Public Education Financial Survey as published by NCES and enrollment data

from the Common Core of Data also published by NCES will be used when determining the core

instruction amount. The core instruction amount will be updated annually. For the purpose of

calculating this formula, school districts' resident average daily membership shall exclude charter

school and state-operated school students.

     (2) The amount to support high need students beyond the core instruction amount shall be

determined by multiplying a student success factor of forty percent (40%) by the core instruction

per pupil amount described in § 16-7.2-3(1) and applying that amount to all resident children

eligible for USDA reimbursable school meals for each resident child whose family income is at

or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines, hereinafter

referred to as "poverty status."

     (b) LEAs may set aside a portion of funds received under subsection (a) to expand

learning opportunities such as after school and summer programs, full day kindergarten and/or

multiple pathway programs provided that the basic education program and all other approved

programs required in law are funded.

     (c) The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate such

regulations as are necessary to implement fully the purposes of this chapter.

     16-7.2-4. Determination of state's share. -- (a) For each district, the state's share of the

foundation education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3(a) shall use a calculation that

considers a district's revenue generating capacity and concentration of high-need students. The

calculation is the square root of the sum of the state share ratio for the community calculation,

(SSRC), pursuant to § 16-7-20, squared plus the district's percentage of students eligible for

USDA reimbursable school meals in grades PK-6 in poverty status (PK6FRPL) squared, divided

by two.

     (b) For purposes of determining the state's share, school district student data used in this

calculation shall include charter school and state school students. These ratios are used in the

permanent foundation education aid formula calculation described in § 16-7.2-5.

     16-7.2-5. Charter public schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical

High School, and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center. -- (a) Charter

public schools as defined in chapter 77 of this title, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and

Technical High School (Davies) and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (the

Met Center) shall be funded pursuant to § 16-7.2-3. If the October 1 actual enrollment data for

any charter public school shows a ten percent (10%) or greater change from the prior year

enrollment which is used as the reference year average daily membership, the last six (6) monthly

third and fourth quarter payments to the charter public school will be adjusted to reflect actual

enrollment. The state share of the permanent foundation education aid shall be paid by the state

directly to the charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center pursuant to § 16-7.2-9 and shall

be calculated using the state share ratio of the district of residence of the student as set forth in §

16-7.2-4. The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide the general

assembly with the calculation of the state share of permanent foundation education aid for charter

public schools delineated by school district.

     The department shall also provide the general assembly a performance dashboard

indicating the per-pupil expenditures of each school district and charter school broken down by

revenue sources and expenditure categories. The department shall provide, within the same

dashboard, student performance indicators for each school district or charter school. (b) The local

share of education funding, as defined by the department of elementary and secondary education

and approved by the General Assembly, shall be paid to the charter public school, Davies, and the

Met Center by the district of residence of the student and shall be the local per-pupil cost

calculated by dividing the local appropriation to education from property taxes, net of debt

service, and capital projects, as defined in the uniform chart of accounts by the average daily

membership for each city and town, pursuant to § 16-7-22, for the reference year.

     (c) Beginning in FY 2017, there shall be a reduction to the local per pupil funding paid by

the district of residence to charter public schools, Davies and the Met Center. This reduction shall

be equal to the greater (i) of seven percent (7%) of the local per pupil funding of the district of

residence pursuant to §16-7 .2-5(b) or (ii) the per pupil value of the district's costs for non-public

textbooks, transportation for non-public students, retiree health benefits, out-of-district special

education tuition and transportation, services for students age eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21)

years old, pre-school screening and intervention, and career and technical education, tuition and

transportation costs, debt service and rental costs minus the average expenses incurred by charter

schools for those same categories of expenses as reported in the uniform chart of accounts for the

prior preceding fiscal year pursuant to §16-7-16(11) and verified by the department of elementary

and secondary education. In the case where audited financials result in a change in the calculation

after the first tuition payment is made, the remaining payments shall be based on the most recent

audited data. For those districts whose greater reduction occurs under the calculation of (ii), there

shall be an additional reduction to payments to mayoral academies with teachers that do not

participate in the state teacher's retirement system under chapter 8 of title 36 equal to the per pupil

value of teacher retirement costs attributable to unfunded liability as calculated by the state's

actuary for the prior preceding fiscal year.

     (b)(d) Local district payments to charter public schools, Davies, and the Met Center for

each district's students enrolled in these schools shall be made on a quarterly basis in July,

October, January and April; however, the first local district payment shall be made by August 15

instead of July. Failure of the community to make the local district payment for its student(s)

enrolled in a charter public school, Davies, and/or the Met Center may result in the withholding

of state education aid pursuant to § 16-7-31.

     (e) Beginning in FY 2017, school districts with charter public school, Davies, and the

Met Center enrollment, that combined, comprise five percent (5%) or more of the average daily

membership as defined in §16-17-22 shall receive additional aid for a period of three (3) years.

Aid in FY 2017 shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open enrollment schools,

Davies, or the Met Center students as of the reference year as defined in §16-7-16 times a per

pupil amount of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175). Aid in FY 2018 shall be equal to the

number of charter public school, open enrollment schools, Davies, or the Met Center students as

of the reference year as defined in §16-7-16 times a per pupil amount of one hundred dollars

($100). Aid in FY 2019 shall be equal to the number of charter public school, open enrollment

schools, Davies, or the Met Center students as of the reference year as defined in §16-7-16 times

a per pupil amount of fifty dollars ($50.00). The additional aid shall be used to offset the adjusted

fixed costs retained by the districts of residence.

     16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. -- In addition to the foundation

education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 the permanent foundation education aid program

shall provide direct state funding for:

     (a) Excess costs associated with special education students. - Excess costs are defined

when an individual special education student's cost shall be deemed to be "extraordinary."

Extraordinary costs are those educational costs that exceed the state approved threshold based on

an amount above five times the core foundation amount (total of core instruction amount plus

student success amount) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the

funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for

which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in

any fiscal year; and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data

on those educational costs that exceed the state approved threshold based on an amount above

four (4) times the core foundation amount.

      (b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements

needed to transform existing or create new comprehensive career and technical education

programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher

than average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies

necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the

state. The department shall develop recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all

career and technical education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual

basis. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for

distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school

districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

     (c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten

programs. The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early

childhood program funds as may be determined by the general assembly;

     (d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to assure

that appropriate funding is available to support their the community, including students.

Additional support for Central Falls is needed from the community that attend the charter schools,

Davies, and the Met Center pursuant to § 16-7.2-5, due to concerns regarding the city's capacity

to meet the local share of education costs. This fund requires that education aid calculated

pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside the permanent foundation education aid

formula, including but not limited to transportation, facility maintenance, and retiree health

benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of Central Falls. The fund shall be annually

reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city appropriation. The state's share of this

fund may be supported through a reallocation of current state appropriations to the Central Falls

school district. At the end of the transition period defined in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will

continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional support for the Davies and the Met

Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a stand-alone high school offering both

academic and career and technical coursework. The department shall recommend criteria for the

purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as may be determined by the general

assembly; and

     (e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out of district non-public schools

and within regional school districts. (1) This fund will provide state funding for the costs

associated with transporting students to out of district non-public schools, pursuant to title 16,

Chapter 21.1. The state will assume the costs of non-public out-of-district transportation for those

districts participating in the statewide system; and (2) This fund will provide direct state funding

for the excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts,

established pursuant to title 16, chapter 3. This fund requires that the state and regional school

district share equally the student transportation costs net any federal sources of revenue for these

expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds

available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for

which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any

fiscal year.

     (f) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization

bonus as set forth below.

     (1) As used herein, the term "regionalized" shall be deemed to refer to a regional school

district established under the provisions of chapter 16-3 including the Chariho Regional School

district.

     (2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus

shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the

regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a

regionalized school district as set forth section 16-3, including the Chariho Regional School

District.

     (3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the

state's share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to

§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year.

     (4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the

state's share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to

§§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year.

     (5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year.

     (6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to

the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns.

     (7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds

available for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total approve

costs for which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the

amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year.

     (g) Additional state support for English learners (EL). For FY 2017 only, the amount to

support EL students shall be determined by multiplying an EL factor of ten percent (10%) by the

core instruction per pupil amount defined in §16-7.2-3(a)(1) and applying that amount of

additional state support to EL students identified using widely adopted, independent standards

and assessments identified by the Commissioner. All categorical funds distributed pursuant to this

subsection must be used to provide high-quality, research-based services to EL students and

managed in accordance with requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and

secondary education. The department of elementary and secondary education shall collect

performance reports from districts and approve the use of funds prior to expenditure. The

department of elementary and secondary education shall ensure the funds are aligned to activities

that are innovative and expansive and not utilized for activities the district is currently funding.

The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for

distribution among eligible recipients if the total calculated costs exceed the amount of funding

available in any fiscal year.

     (g)(h) Categorical programs defined in (a) through (f) shall be funded pursuant to the

transition plan in § 16-7.2-7.

     SECTION 3. Section 16-77.2-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-77.2 entitled "District

Charter School" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-77.2-5. Budgets and funding. -- (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that

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

to the establishment of a district charter school. Funding for each district charter school shall

consist of state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the same proportions that funding is

provided for other schools within the sending school district(s).

     (b) The amount of funding which shall be allocated to the district charter school by the

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

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

district charter school by the total resident average daily number of students in the sending school

district(s).

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

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

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

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

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

commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations consistent with this section regarding the

allocation of funds from sending school districts to district charter schools.

     (d)(c) All services centrally or otherwise provided by the school district in which the

district charter school is located which the district charter school decides to utilize including, but

not limited to, transportation, food services, custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, media

services, libraries, nursing, and warehousing, shall be subject to negotiation between a district

charter school and the school district in which the district charter school is located and paid for

out of the revenues of the district charter school. Disputes with regard to cost of services

requested from the school district in which the district charter school is located will be

adjudicated by the commissioner.

     (e)(d) A district charter school shall be eligible to receive other aids, grants, Medicaid

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

Federal aid received by the state shall be used to benefit students in the charter public school, if

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

     (f)(e) A district charter school may negotiate and contract directly with third parties for

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

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

     (g) Any career echnical charter public school enrolling special education students from

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

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

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

secondary and elementary education.

     SECTION 4. Section of 16-77.3-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-77.3 entitled

"Independent Charter Schools" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-77.3-5. Budgets and funding. -- (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that

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

to the establishment of an independent charter school. Funding for each independent charter

school shall consist of state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the same proportions that

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

     (b) The amount of funding which shall be allocated to the independent charter school by

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

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

district charter school by the total resident average daily number of students in the sending school

district(s).

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

subsection (b) may be allocated to the independent charter school from the sending school

district(s) to the extent that the combined percentage of students eligible for free or reduced cost

lunch, students with limited English proficiency, and students requiring special education exceed

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

commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations consistent with this section regarding the

allocation of funds from sending school districts to independent charter schools.

     (d)(c) An independent charter school shall be eligible to receive other aids, grants,

Medicaid revenue, and other revenue according to Rhode Island law, as though it were a school

district. Federal aid received by the state shall be used to benefit students in the independent

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

     (e)(d) An independent charter school may negotiate and contract directly with third

parties for the purchase of books, instructional materials, and any other goods and services which

are not being provided by the sending school district(s) pursuant to the charter.

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

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

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

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

elementary and secondary education.

     SECTION 5. Section 16-77.4-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-77.4 entitled

"Mayoral Academies" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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

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

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

state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the same proportions that funding is provided

for other schools within the sending school district(s).

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

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

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

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

district(s).

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

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

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

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

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

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

from sending school districts to mayoral academies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

elementary and secondary education.

     SECTION 6. Section 16-64-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-64 entitled

"Residence of Children for School Purposes" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-64-1.1. Payment and reimbursement for educational costs of children placed in

foster care, group homes, or other residential facility by a Rhode Island state agency. -- (a)

Children placed in foster care by a Rhode Island licensed child placing agency or a Rhode Island

governmental agency shall be entitled to the same free appropriate public education provided to

all other residents of the city or town where the child is placed. The city or town shall pay the cost

of the education of the child during the time the child is in foster care in the city or town.

      (b) Children placed by DCYF in a group home or other residential facility that does not

include the delivery of educational services are to be educated by the community in which the

group home or other residential facility is located, and those children shall be entitled to the same

free appropriate public education provided to all other residents of the city or town where the

child is placed. For purposes of payment and reimbursement for educational costs under this

chapter, the term "group home or other residential facility" shall not include independent living

programs. Each city and town that contains one or more group homes or other residential

facilities that do not include delivery of educational services will receive funds as part of state aid

to education in accordance with the following provisions:

      (1) On December 31 of each year the DCYF shall provide the department of elementary

and secondary education with a precise count of how many group home or other residential

facility "beds" exist in each Rhode Island city or town, counting only those "beds" in facilities

that do not include the delivery of educational services. The number of "beds" in each group

home or other residential facility shall be equal to the maximum number of children that may be

placed in that group home or other residential facility on any given night according to the

applicable licensure standards of the DCYF.

      (2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, if the number of beds certified by the

Department of Children, Youth and Families for a school district by December 31, 2007 is greater

than the number certified March 14, 2007 upon which the education aid for FY 2008 was

appropriated, the education aid for that district will be increased by the number of increased beds

multiplied by fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or

any law to the contrary, the education aid for all group home or other residential facility "beds"

located or associated with the Children's Residential and Family Treatment (CRAFT) program

located on the East Providence campus of Bradley Hospital shall be twenty-two thousand dollars

($22,000) per bed. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall include the

additional aid in equal payments in March, April, May and June, and the Governor's budget

recommendations pursuant to § 35-3-8 shall include the amounts required to provide the

increased aid.

      For all fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2008 2016, education aid for each school

district shall include fifteen seventeen thousand dollars ($15,000) ($17,000) for each bed certified

by the Department of Children, Youth and Families by the preceding December 31.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any law to the contrary, the education aid for all

group home or other residential facility "beds" located or associated with the Children's

Residential and Family Treatment (CRAFT) program located on the East Providence campus of

Bradley Hospital shall be twenty-two thousand dollars ($22,000) twenty-six thousand dollars

($26,000) per bed. For all fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2008, whenever the number of

beds certified by the Department of Children, Youth and Families for a school district by

December 31 is greater than the number certified the prior December 31 upon which the

education aid for that fiscal year was appropriated, the education aid for that district as enacted by

the assembly during the prior legislative session for that fiscal year will be increased by the

number of increased beds multiplied by the amount per bed authorized for that fiscal year. The

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall include the additional aid in equal

payments in March, April, May and June, and the Governor's budget recommendations pursuant

to § 35-3-8 shall include the amounts required to provide the increased aid.

      (c) Children placed by DCYF in a residential treatment program, group home, or other

residential facility, whether or not located in the state of Rhode Island, which includes the

delivery of educational services, provided by that facility (excluding facilities where students are

taught on grounds for periods of time by teaching staff provided by the school district in which

the facility is located), shall have the cost of their education paid for as provided for in subsection

(d) of this section and § 16-64-1.2. The city or town determined to be responsible to DYCF for a

per-pupil special education cost pursuant to § 16-64-1.2 shall pay its share of the cost of

educational services to DCYF or to the facility providing educational services.

      (d) Children placed by DCYF in group homes, child caring facilities, community

residences, or other residential facilities shall have the entire cost of their education paid for by

DCYF if:

      (1) The facility is operated by the state of Rhode Island or the facility has a contract with

DCYF to fund a pre-determined number of placements or part of the facility's program;

      (2) The facility is state-licensed; and

      (3) The facility operates an approved on-grounds educational program, whether or not

the child attends the on-grounds program.

     SECTION 7. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 3.2

SCHOOL AND FAMILY EMPOWERMENT ACT

     16-3.2-1. Declaration of policy. – As part of the effort to transform education in Rhode

Island, the general assembly is committed to developing and supporting strategies that foster

cultures of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement in Rhode Island schools. The

general assembly believes that all district schools benefit from effective leadership, strong

labor/management collaboration, strong community support and engagement, and the autonomy

and flexibility to continuously improve instruction and implement and adopt strategies that meet

the needs of their students. The general assembly therefore in this act establishes empowerment

schools, which shall remain within a public school district, under the district leadership of the

superintendent and school committee, but which shall be managed collaboratively on site by the

principal and the faculty, as an additional opportunity for supporting more high performing and

innovative schools within the Rhode Island system of public education. A school that volunteers

to be an empowerment school, as defined in this chapter, shall have unprecedented levels of

regulatory and statutory flexibility; school-based autonomy, including autonomy over budget;

flexibility in school-based instructional policies and professional practices defined through shared

leadership; and be uniquely positioned to create compelling learning environments responsive to

increased student and parent/family empowerment. Similarly, in this act, the general assembly

establishes the affirmative right for students and their parents/families to enroll in an

empowerment school that is different than their assigned school based on residence, in order to

seek innovative instructional policies and practices that best match their learning needs, so long

as the empowerment school has elected, as part of its empowerment plan, to accept students from

other schools within the student's district of residence.

     16-3.2-2. The empowerment school. – (a) The following entities may be designated as

an empowerment school: a school in a public school district, a school within a school in a public

school district, a career and technical education program within a public school district, a state

school.

     (b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all statutes, regulations, and collective

bargaining agreement terms and conditions shall apply to empowerment schools.

     (c) Notwithstanding §§16-2-9 and 16-2-11, the principal and professional staff of a

empowerment school, acting in concert as a school leadership team, shall make decisions

regarding the school's policies and practices, including, but not limited to, curriculum,

instructional practices, policies and procedures, calendar and schedule, allocation of resources,

staffing and professional development, consistent with the district collective bargaining

agreement and school-based amendments as defined in §16-3.2-4(f). Leadership teams shall

determine methods to document and communicate the latest decisions that emerge through the

leadership team process. Noncertified staff, parents, students and community members may also

be members of the school leadership team at the school's discretion. The principal shall have final

authority in all instructional, personnel, managerial, and operational matters, except for those

matters expressly delegated to the school leadership team through the participatory leadership

process, consistent with the district collective bargaining agreement and school-based

amendments as defined in §16-3.2-4(f).

     (d) Students from the district in which the empowerment school is located shall be funded

either pursuant to §§16-3.2-7 and 16-7.2-5 or, based on mutual written agreement between the

superintendent and the principal of the empowerment school, in accordance with an alternative

agreement with the school district.

     (e) Teachers and other staff who work in empowerment schools shall maintain their full

status as members of their respective bargaining unit and as employees of the district and service

in an empowerment school shall not be deemed to be an interruption of service in the school

district for purposes of seniority and teachers' retirement.

     (f) Although existing collective bargaining agreements shall apply to an empowerment

school, empowerment schools shall be eligible to amend the existing district-wide collective

bargaining agreement through an expedited and timely process, subject to approval of the

superintendent, district union membership, and school committee. School-based amendments to

the district-wide collective bargaining agreement shall be non-precedent setting for future district

bargaining or contract administration. In all instances, final approval or non-approval by all

parties of school-based amendments to the district-wide collective bargaining agreement shall be

made within ninety (90) days of submission of such request.

     16-3.2-3. Procedure for creation of an empowerment school. – (a) The commissioner

of elementary and secondary education shall develop a process for a public school, with the

approval of its superintendent and school committee, to be designated as an empowerment school

with the duties, responsibilities and autonomies set forth in this chapter. Said process shall also

address the manner in which a school and its school committee can convert an empowerment

school back to a traditional public school. No existing public school shall be converted into an

empowerment school or back to a traditional public school unless two-thirds (2/3) of the full-time

professional staff currently assigned to the eligible entity described in §16-3.2-4 approve the

proposal. The empowerment school application process and timeline shall be determined by the

commissioner and include information including, but not limited to, the vision for the

empowerment school; the means it will use to improve school performance and student

achievement; performance criteria that will be used to measure student learning at least sufficient

to participate in the state accountability plan; a plan for the governance, administration, and

operation of the empowerment school; whether the school will be funded via §§16-3.2-7 and 16-

7.2-5 or through an alternative written agreement between the superintendent and the principal of

the empowerment school; and the state statutes, state regulations, contract provisions, and school

district rules from which variances or waivers are sought in order to facilitate operation of the

empowerment school. The application shall include a description of the authority of the principal

and how employment decisions of the principal would impact the teacher and staff assignment

process within a school district.

     In order to facilitate statewide innovation, approved empowerment school plans shall be

posted publicly.

     (b) Upon deeming an application to be satisfactory, the superintendent and school

committee shall transmit its approval of the designation to the commissioner of elementary and

secondary education, who shall then register the school as an empowerment school subject to the

duties, responsibilities, and autonomies of this chapter.

     Nothing in this chapter shall require an empowerment school to include all of the

provisions of this chapter in its locally approved plan. In other words, empowerment plans may

include only a locally-determined subset of the provisions made possible by this chapter.

     Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the creation of school-based amendment to the

district collective bargaining agreement, as defined in §16-3.2-4 (f), to incorporate all or part of

the empowerment plan into the local collective bargaining agreement.

     (c) If the designation of an empowerment school is approved by the superintendent and

school committee, it shall be authorized to operate for a period of up to three (3) years. The

empowerment school plan may be modified as necessary during its period of authorization and

may be renewed for increments up to three (3) years utilizing the same process outlined herein for

initial designation and registration.

     (d) Upon registration of the empowerment school designation by the commissioner of

elementary and secondary education, the commissioner shall be deemed to have authorized all

necessary variances from statutes and regulations enumerated in the application.

     16-3.2-4. Empowerment school principal. – (a) Principals of empowerment schools

shall be the educational leaders and administrators of their schools and shall supervise the

operation and management of their schools and school property. It shall be the responsibility of

the principal to promote participatory decision-making among all professional staff for the

purposes of developing educational policy and practices. The term professional staff shall include

all teachers, administrators, instructional leaders, specialists, and related service providers who

are certified by the state as education professionals. Principals employed under this section shall

be responsible for recommending the hiring and assigning all teachers and other professional

staff, athletic coaches, instructional or administrative aides and any other personnel assigned to

the school and for terminating all such personnel, subject to this chapter and the review and

approval of the superintendent. Any assignment to an empowerment school of a teacher

previously employed in another school in the district including, but not limited to, voluntary

transfer, involuntary transfer, reduction in force, and recall, shall be subject to the approval of the

principal, consistent with the district collective bargaining agreement and school-based

amendments as defined in §16-3.2-4(f). No teacher or staff may be laid-off, suspended or

terminated by a school district who would not otherwise have been laid-off, suspended or

terminated except for an employment decision by an empowerment school principal pursuant to

this section.

     (b) The principal of the empowerment school shall serve at the pleasure of the

superintendent with the advice and consent of the school committee through a written contract not

to exceed three (3) years.

     16-3.2-5. Budgets and funding. – (a) All services centrally or otherwise provided by the

school district in which the empowerment school is located which the empowerment school

decides to utilize including, but not limited to, financial services, transportation, food services,

custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, professional development, media services, libraries,

nursing, and warehousing, shall be subject to negotiation between the empowerment school and

the school district in which the empowerment school is located and paid for out of the revenues of

the empowerment school.

     Nothing in this chapter shall prevent empowerment schools from electing to receive the

same district services as it did prior to the empowerment school designation.

     (b) An empowerment school shall be eligible to receive other aids, grants, Medicaid

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

Federal aid received by the state shall be used to benefit students in the empowerment school, if

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

     (c) An empowerment school may negotiate and contract directly with third parties for the

purchase goods and services, consistent with applicable law.

     16-3.2-6. Review of empowerment schools. – Each empowerment school shall be

reviewed by the department of elementary and secondary education on a schedule determined by

the commissioner. Based on an evaluation of the empowerment school's plan, its impact on

student achievement, or its impact on the health and welfare of its students or staff, the

commissioner may, in extreme circumstances and at any time during the empowerment school's

authorized period of operation, recommend to the council on elementary and secondary education

that the empowerment school's designation and registration, and/or its open enrollment

designation, be revoked. Prior to recommending to the council that a empowerment school's

designation and registration be revoked, the commissioner shall provide the school,

superintendent, and school committee with specific notice of the reasons for revocation and grant

the school and school committee an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the process set

forth in chapter 39 of this title.

     16-3.2-7. Portions of title 16 applicable to empowerment schools. – In addition to

federal law and this chapter, the following provisions of this title shall be binding on

empowerment schools. Accordingly, school committees may not endorse, nor may the

commissioner approve any request for waiver of the following provisions pursuant to this

chapter:

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

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

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

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

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

     (6) Sections 16-13-2, 16-13-3 (teachers' tenure)

     (7) Section 16-16-2 (teachers' retirement);

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

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

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

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

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

     (13) Section 16-24-2 (regulations of state board pertaining to children with disabilities);

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

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

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

     (17) Section 16-38-4 (exclusive clubs);

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     (30) Chapter 21.5 of title 16 (Student interrogations).

     Although waivers for §16-11-1 (teacher certification) are permissible, consistent with the

locally approved plan, teachers in an empowerment school must hold at least one teacher

certification, which may be different than the certification associated with their assignment,

unless such teacher is assigned to teach in a shortage area, whereby the teacher shall be provided

with school-based support and work toward a certification to be awarded within five years of the

date of assignment at the empowerment school.

     16-3.2-8. Appropriation. – The general assembly may annually appropriate funds to

support empowerment schools. This appropriation shall be managed by the department of

elementary and secondary education.

     16-3.2-9. Regulations. – The department of elementary and secondary education shall

promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement fully the purposes of this chapter.

     SECTION 8. Section 16-95-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-95 entitled "The

Recovery High Schools Act [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education

Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-95-4. Transfer of aid. -- (a) Any school district in Rhode Island that may have a

student or students who are currently or were last enrolled in said district and who are considered

by the sending district to be both clinically and academically appropriate for referral diagnosed

with substance use disorder or dependency, as defined by the diagnostic and statistical manual of

mental disorders IV-TR may be referred to a Rhode Island recovery high school may be referred

by a clinician licensed pursuant to chapter 69 of title 5 for voluntary enrollment in such school. If

said student is admitted to said school, the sending school district shall ensure that payment

pursuant to subsection (b) herein for students who attend the recovery high school is paid, and

further, that upon completion of all other graduation requirements, said student or students shall

receive a diploma.

      (b) A sending school district shall transfer the per pupil allotment it receives core

instructional amount pursuant to chapter 16-7.2 ("The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief

Act") to a recovery high school for any student attending the recovery high school and meeting

the following criteria: (1) The student is currently enrolled in the district or currently resides in

the municipality in which the district is located; (2) The student is considered by a clinician

licensed pursuant to 42-35 chapter 69 of title 5, to be clinically appropriate, using the criteria for

substance use disorders as defined in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders IV-

TR; and (3) The student meets all matriculation criteria as outlined by the sending district and the

department of elementary and secondary education, with determination of academic eligibility

based on existing documentation provided by the district. The district and the recovery high

school shall arrange to confer a diploma when a student completes state and district-mandated

graduation requirements. The local share of education funding shall be paid to the recovery high

school in the same manner as the local share of education funding is paid to charter public

schools, the William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School, and the Metropolitan

Regional Career and Technical Center, as outlined in § 16-7.2-5.

     (c) For FY 2017, the state shall appropriate no less than five hundred thousand dollars

($500,000) for the administration and programmatic costs of each recovery high school.

      (c)(d) A recovery high school shall submit to the board of regents council on elementary

and secondary education academic data considered necessary by the board to provide information

regarding each student's academic performance, subject to applicable health confidentiality laws

and regulations.

      (d)(e) The board of regents council on elementary and secondary education, in

consultation with the department of behavioral health, developmental disabilities and hospitals

shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to implement and carry out the intent of this

chapter.

     SECTION 9. This article shall take effect upon passage.