2017 -- S 0244

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LC001253

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION-COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE

     Introduced By: Senator Roger Picard

     Date Introduced: February 15, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-19-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-19 entitled

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

is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-19-2. Approval of private schools -- Requirements -- Review.

     For the purposes of this chapter a private school or at-home instruction shall be approved

only when it complies with the following requirements: (1) that the period of attendance of the

pupils in the school or in the home instruction is substantially equal to that required by law in

public schools; (2) that registers are kept and returned to the school committee, the superintendent

of schools, truant officers, and the department of elementary and secondary education in relation

to the attendance of pupils, and are made the same as registers kept by the public schools; (3) that

reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, the history of the United States, the history of Rhode

Island, and the principles of American government shall be taught in the English language

substantially to the same extent as these subjects are required to be taught in the public schools,

and that the teaching of the English language and of other subjects indicated in this section shall

be thorough and efficient; and (4) that students receiving at-home instruction shall be annually

evaluated via grade level standardized assessment as approved by the school district in which the

child resides to measure satisfactory progress or growth from the previous year, or that an annual

written narrative evaluation shall be conducted by a certified teacher or other professional as

recommended by the superintendent and approved by the school committee for the purpose of

measuring satisfactory progress or growth from the previous year; provided, however, that

nothing contained in this section shall be construed or operate to deny the right to teach in private

schools or in at-home instruction any of the subjects or any other subject in any other language in

addition to the teaching in English as prescribed in this section; provided, further, that any

interested person resident in any city or town aggrieved by the action of the school committee of

the city or town either in approving or refusing to approve at-home instruction may appeal the

action to the department of elementary and secondary education. The department of elementary

and secondary education, after notice to the parties interested of the time and place of a hearing,

shall examine and decide the appeal without cost to the parties. The commissioner of elementary

and secondary education shall also grant a hearing to any party aggrieved by a refusal to approve

a private school pursuant to § 16-60-6(10). The decision of the board of regents for elementary

and secondary education shall, if an appeal is made to the board, be final.

     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-COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE

***

     This act would require that students who are home schooled be evaluated via grade level

standardized assessment to measure satisfactory progress or growth from the previous year, or

that an annual written narrative evaluation be conducted by a certified teacher or other

professional for the purpose of measuring satisfactory progress or growth from the previous year.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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