2019 -- S 0265

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LC001202

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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 -- AMERICANIZATION OF SCHOOLS

     Introduced By: Senators Cano, Crowley, Nesselbush, Conley, and Metts

     Date Introduced: February 13, 2019

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 16-29-7 and 16-29-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-29

entitled "Americanization Schools" are hereby repealed.

     16-29-7. Required attendance by persons over compulsory school age.

     Every person who has completed sixteen (16) years of life and who has not completed

twenty-one (21) years of life, and who cannot speak, read, and write the English language in

accordance with standards approved by the department of elementary and secondary education,

and who resides in a city or town in which the school committee has established a day

continuation school for the teaching of the English language, or an evening school, shall attend

either the day continuation school or the evening school at least two hundred (200) hours between

the first day of September and the first day of June in every year until he shall have acquired

reasonable facility in speaking, reading, and writing the English language in accordance with

standards approved by the department of elementary and secondary education.

     16-29-9. Penalty for failure to attend schools.

     Any person who has completed sixteen (16) years of life and who has not completed

twenty-one (21) years of life, and who does not speak, read, and write English in accordance with

standards approved by the department of elementary and secondary education, who resides in a

city or town in which the school committee has made provision for the teaching of the English

language in compliance with this chapter, who habitually absents himself or herself from public

instruction, is sufficiently irregular to make it impossible for him or her to complete two hundred

(200) hours of instruction annually within the time set by the school committee for conducting the

schools, and is not attending private instruction approved by the school committee as provided in

§ 16-29-8, may be fined for each willful absence one dollar ($1.00) and not exceeding twenty

dollars ($20.00) in the aggregate during one year or, for persistent refusal to attend the

instruction, may be committed to an institution during his or her minority.

     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 -- AMERICANIZATION OF SCHOOLS

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     This act would repeal the requirement that persons between sixteen (16) and twenty-one

(21) years of age who cannot speak, read and write English attend school for the teaching of the

English language for at least two hundred (200) hours until they acquire reasonable facility in

speaking, reading and writing English. This act would also repeal fines and commitment to an

institution as punishment for willful violation of this act.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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