2020 -- H 7271

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LC003759

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - RHODE ISLAND EARLY EDUCATOR INVESTMENT ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, McNamara, Amore, Donovan, and Ackerman

     Date Introduced: January 23, 2020

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     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 110

RHODE ISLAND EARLY EDUCATOR INVESTMENT ACT

     16-110-1. Short title.

     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Early Educator

Investment Act."

     16-110-2. Legislative findings and purpose.

     The general assembly hereby finds that:

     (1) Young children's healthy brain development and learning depends on consistent,

nurturing care and enriching learning opportunities at home and in early care and education

settings. Starting at birth, day-to-day interactions with family members and early educators shape

children’s brain architecture upon which all future learning and development is built.

     (2) Many of the early educators and early childhood professionals in Rhode Island earn

very low wages even when they achieve credentials equivalent to kindergarten through grade

twelve (K-12) teachers and demonstrate effective practices. Childcare, family home visiting, and

early intervention programs across the state report difficulty attracting, developing, and retaining

effective early childhood professionals.

     (3) A 2019 statewide survey of early childhood professionals in Rhode Island found that

over forty percent (40%) of infant/toddler educators worry about having enough food to feed their

family and fifty percent (50%) worry about having enough money to pay for housing.

     (4) Almost one-third (1/3) of early educators have a second job to help make ends meet

and almost two-thirds (2/3) report that they plan to leave their early education job if the

compensation does not improve. And yet, most report that they enjoy working with children and

families and many have earned college credits and degrees in child development and early

education.

     (5) A landmark report issued by the National Academy of Science in 2015 found that

educators of young children, including infants and toddlers, need the same high level of

knowledge and competencies as teachers of older children and that educational qualifications and

compensation of early educators should be equivalent to those of kindergarten through grade

twelve (K-12) teachers.

     (6) According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for a

childcare teacher in Rhode Island in 2018 was twelve dollars and fifteen cents ($12.15) per hour,

well below the state median wage of twenty dollars and twenty-one cents ($20.21) per hour and

significantly below the level of kindergarten teachers who had an average annual salary of sixty-

five thousand five hundred thirty dollars ($65,530). Rhode Island state agency data show that

median wages for early intervention providers and family home visitors range from thirteen

dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) per hour to twenty dollars ($20.00) per hour.

     (7) By enacting this chapter, the general assembly acknowledges the need to develop and

implement strategies to improve the compensation of early educators so programs can attract,

develop, and retain effective staff to care for and educate young children and provide family-

focused services.

     16-110-3. Establishment of a target wage scale.

     (a) The Rhode Island executive office of health and human services shall work in

collaboration with the Rhode Island department of education to establish goals to improve

compensation, including a common target wage scale for early educators linked to education

levels above high school and demonstrated competence working with children and families.

     (b) The target wage scale shall be developed to apply to educators working in childcare

centers, family childcare homes, family home visiting programs, and early intervention programs.

The target wage scale shall promote parity with kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public

school teachers for individuals with similar credentials.

     (c) In developing this target wage scale, the executive office of health and human

services and the department of education may consider the findings and recommendations

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provided in the 2019 Moving the Needle on Compensation Task Force's report "Improving the

Compensation and Retention of Effective Infant/Toddler Educators in Rhode Island."

     16-110-4. Developing strategies to increase compensation of early educators.

     (a) Once the target wage scale has been established, the executive office of health and

human services and the department of education shall design strategies and estimate the cost to

close the gap between current wages and the target wage scale, including parity with public

school teaching staff or individuals with similar credentials. In developing the plan, the following

components shall be considered:

     (1) Continuation and expansion of the existing statewide, comprehensive, research-based

early childhood workforce development scholarship program established under § 16-87-4 to

include stronger and ongoing support for compensation, such as implementation of wage

supplements or regular stipends for early educators to lift annual income to meet or exceed the

levels in the target wage scale. Consideration shall be given to the Infant/Toddler Educator

Education and Retention Awards demonstration program recommended by the Moving the

Needle on Compensation's Task Force.

     (2) Proposals to increase rates paid to early childhood programs that are adequate to

enable programs to pay early educators wages that meet or exceed the levels in the target wage

scale.

     (3) Contracts to early childhood programs to expand the availability of high-quality

services for young children and families with educators in the program paid wages that meet or

exceed the levels in the target wage scale.

     (4) Registered apprenticeships for early educators that support completion of college

coursework and attainment of college credentials while providing opportunities to develop high-

quality practices through regular on-the-job coaching by master early educators. Apprenticeships

shall be designed and funded to enable successful participants to earn wages that meet or exceed

the levels in the target wage scale.

     16-110-5. Reporting.

     The executive office of health and human services and the department of education shall

report back to the governor and general assembly on or before December 1, 2020 with a target

wage scale and initial cost estimates for public funding to close the wage gaps for early educators.

     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 - RHODE ISLAND EARLY EDUCATOR INVESTMENT ACT

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     This act would establish the Rhode Island Early Educator Investment Act to develop and

implement strategies to improve the compensation of early educators.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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