2017 -- S 0557

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LC001677

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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 - ESTABLISHMENT OF CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

     Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Doyle, and Nesselbush

     Date Introduced: March 15, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended

by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 77.5

DISTRICT-CHARTER COMPACTS

     16-77.5-1. Purposes.

     (a) The general assembly declares that a primary reason for authorizing charter public

schools is to encourage experimentation in methods of delivering educational services by public

schools and to determine the educational effectiveness and efficiency achieved through traditional

and experimental methods, with the goal of identifying those methods showing the greatest

promise for improving the educational outcomes for all public school students.

     (b) The general assembly finds that public schools generally face certain common

problems, such as resource availability and allocation, and that addressing those problems

communally would allow community-wide resources to be used more effectively and efficiently.

     (c) The general assembly finds that cross-fertilization of promising ideas among charter

and non-charter public schools may be expected to lead to faster refinement and adoption of the

most promising ideas and thus the more rapid improvement of education for students in the

state’s public schools.

     16-77.5-2. District-charter compacts.

     The school committee for any public school district, charter public school, or network of

charter public schools may enter into a compact with one or more school committees of other

districts, charter public schools or networks of charter public schools that, in whole or in part,

draw students from the same district. The scope of the compact may cover the areas of interest as

the committees subscribing thereto find advisable or convenient.

     16-77.5-3. District-charter compact support fund.

     There is established the district-charter compact support fund, sometimes referred to as

the "fund" or the "compact fund," which shall be used to support the efforts of public school

committees to use district-charter compacts to develop and realize improvements in education.

The general assembly shall annually appropriate any funds as it deems necessary to implement

the purposes of this chapter. The portion of the fund, if any, derived from appropriations by the

general assembly and any other portion of the fund derived from other sources without restriction

as to use shall be part of the general fund of the state until expended for an approved purpose.

     16-77.5-4. Acceptance of grants and gifts into compact fund.

     The general treasurer may accept grants, gifts, and bequests into the compact fund, which

shall be credited to the general fund of the state as provided by §35-4-6, provided that if any such

grant, gift, or bequest be made subject to a restriction that it be held within the compact fund,

which restriction was approved in advance by the general treasurer and the director of

administration, such grant, gift, or bequest and any identifiable earnings thereon shall remain in

the compact fund until used for a purpose conforming to the purposes of this chapter and the

terms of the grant, gift, or bequest.

     16-77.5-5. Fund grants to compact-subscribing committees.

     The board of education, acting through the department of education, may establish a

grant process, which may be competitive, for school committees subscribing to district-charter

compacts. Grant recipients may use the proceeds to carry out planning for and implementation of

initiatives contemplated by the compact. By way of illustration and not limitation, grants may be

made to coordinate enrollment procedures, to provide for common professional development

activities for teachers, administrators, and staff, and to develop efficient methods of reducing

costs, such as providing transportation and serving special needs students. Grants shall be drawn

against any available balance in the compact fund.

     SECTION 2. Section 16-7.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.1 entitled "The Paul

W.Crowley Rhode Island Student Investment Initiative [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode

Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-7.1-4. Annual report by Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.

     On or before March 31 of each year, the commissioner of elementary and secondary

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education shall annually publish a report detailing school district and individual school

performance consistent with § 16-60-4(22). The report shall arrange the presentation of its

information so that performance by different local education agencies may be conveniently

compared. This report shall also set annual performance benchmarks. A copy of the report shall

also be provided to each town and city council having students within its jurisdiction that attend

public schools operated by different local education agencies. Also, the commissioner of

elementary and secondary education shall report to the house of representatives and the senate,

sitting as the grand committee, no later than March 31 of each year, the status of district and

school performance, status of the level of the state's investment in education, and the status of

district and school expenditures.

     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 - ESTABLISHMENT OF CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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     This act would establish district-charter compacts between charter schools and traditional

public schools and would establish a compact fund to be supported by appropriations from the

general assembly as well as grants, gifts and bequests. Any such funds would be placed in the

general fund unless specifically restricted for use by the district-charter for school benefit. Any

such restriction would have to be approved in advance by the general treasurer and the director of

administration. This act would encourage public school committees to work and cooperate with

charter schools in solving common problems.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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