2019 -- H 5878

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LC002183

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND SUPERINTENDENTS -

BEGINNING OF SCHOOL YEAR

     

     Introduced By: Representative Stephen R. Ucci

     Date Introduced: March 20, 2019

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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

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Committees and Superintendents [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of

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

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     16-2-2. City and town schools required -- School year -- Location -- Kindergartens.

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     (a)(1) Except as specifically provided in this section, every city or town shall establish

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and maintain for at least one hundred eighty (180) days annually or the equivalent thereof,

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exclusive of holidays, a sufficient number of schools in convenient places under the control and

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management of the school committee and under the supervision of the Rhode Island Board of

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Education. In lieu of a convenient location, the school committee may provide transportation for

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pupils to and from school in accordance with the provisions of chapter 21 of this title. Provided,

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that a school district may establish a school year that is the equivalent of one hundred eighty

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(180) days through the use of longer school days in terms of hours or pursuant to subsection (c) of

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this section, and that may total less than one hundred eighty (180) separate days, so long as

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through the use of the longer school day, the school district annually provides a minimum of one

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thousand eighty (1,080) school hours in a single school year. This figure is based on a minimum

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of six (6) hours per school day. For purposes of clarification, the intent herein is to permit school

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districts to amend their school year to provide for longer school days while reducing the actual

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number of days in which the school facilities must be fully staffed and maintained, but to insure

 

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that in doing so, school districts shall still provide the minimum amount of instruction time

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contemplated by this section. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit a school district from

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exceeding the minimum amounts of days and hours set forth herein.

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     (2) School districts intending to make use of the option provided herein to lengthen

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school days and shorten the school year shall submit a detailed school day plan and a proposed

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school calendar to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education for approval. The

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commissioner shall review the submitted school day plan and the submitted calendar to determine

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whether the plan and calendar are academically sound and fiscally efficient. The commissioner

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may grant or deny approval of the plan and/or the calendar.

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     (3) Each school district, including charter schools, shall adopt a calendar beginning the

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school year on the day after Labor Day, effective for the school year 2020-2021 and thereafter.

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     (b) School facilities shall include a sufficient number of kindergartens.

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     (c) On or before December 1, 2017, the department of elementary and secondary

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education shall establish a policy that allows a school district to submit a detailed plan, at any

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time, to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education that would allow the schools to

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conduct instruction through virtual education when the schools have been closed due to inclement

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weather or other emergency. The plan for virtual education would be subject to, and require

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approval by, the council on elementary and secondary education in order to count as a school day.

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     (d) Any school that is required by a collective bargaining agreement entered into prior to

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the effective date of this section to begin its school year prior to Labor Day shall be exempt from

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this section for the duration of such agreement.

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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 - SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND SUPERINTENDENTS -

BEGINNING OF SCHOOL YEAR

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     This act would require public schools, including charter schools, to begin the school year

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on the day after Labor Day commencing in the school year 2020-2021.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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