09-R361
2009 -- H 5967 AS AMENDED
Enacted 11/09/09
J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N
CREATING A
SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO BE KNOWN AS "THE TASK FORCE ON SUMMER
LEARNING PROGRAMS"
Introduced By: Representatives Pacheco, Fox, Naughton, and McNamara
Date Introduced: March 11, 2009
WHEREAS, Most students lose around two months of grade level
equivalency in
mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income
students also lose more
than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact
that their middle-income peers make
slight gains; and
WHEREAS, A recent study
by
the achievement gap between lower-income and
higher-income youth can be explained by
unequal access to high-quality summer learning opportunities.
As a result, low-income youth are
less likely to graduate from high school or enter college
which results in a diminishing of the
future workforce; and
WHEREAS, Most children, particularly children at high risk of
obesity, gain weight
more rapidly when they are out of school during the summer
break; and
WHEREAS, Policies around
summer learning are scarce, are not comprehensive, and are
currently not targeted appropriately; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That a special legislative task force be and the same
is hereby created
consisting of fourteen (14) members: one of whom shall be a
member of the House of
Representatives, to be appointed
by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a member of
the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the
Senate; one of whom shall be the Executive
Director of the Rhode
Island Afterschool Plus
Alliance, or designee; one of whom shall be the
President of the Rhode
Island School Age Child Care Association, or designee; one of whom
shall be the Executive Director of Kids First, or designee;
one of whom shall be the President of
the Boys and Girls Clubs of Rhode Island, or designee;
one of whom shall be the Executive
Director of the Rhode
Island Parent Information Network, or designee; one of whom shall be a
representative of the 21st Community Learning Center Network, to be
appointed by the Speaker
of the House and President of the Senate; one of whom
shall be the President of the
School Superintendents’
Association, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the
Rhode Island Association of
School Principals, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chairman
of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, or
designee; one of whom shall be the
President of the Greater
YMCA Association, or designee; one of whom shall be from the Rhode
Island department of
education, or designee; and one of
whom shall be a member of the
Governor’s
staff, to be appointed by the Governor.
Directors of state departments, or their designees, shall serve as ex-officio members at the
request of the chair of said task force.
In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory
commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly
resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu
of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which
is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public.
The purpose of said task force shall be to make a comprehensive study and make
recommendations for:
1. Increasing school linkages with summer learning programs;
2. Increasing coordination between school summer learning programs and programs
sponsored by community-based organizations;
3. Determining alternative approaches to deliver traditional summer school programs;
4. Identifying the key elements of summer learning that should be addressed at a public
policy level in order to:
(a) Eliminate summer learning loss;
(b) Contribute to more effective school-year approaches to educating underserved
learners
in
(c) Determine how a more comprehensive statewide strategy might be implemented
over time; and
(d) Identify how to best coordinate existing funding streams for summer learning
programs.
The Task Force shall conduct outreach to educate and inform on the importance of
summer learning. It shall also examine how summer learning programs, including the results of
five summer learning programs in
can provide positive results, including but not limited to:
Increasing the connection between the program and the school;
Aligning the activities of the program with the curriculum of the school;
Strengthening or increasing
programming for
Serving more
Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the task force shall meet at the
call of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate and organize and shall select,
from among the legislators, a chairperson. Vacancies in said task force shall be filled in like
manner as the original appointment.
The membership of said task force shall receive no compensation for their services.
All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,
documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or
desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.
The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide
suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the commission shall report its findings and
recommendations to the
General Assembly no later
than March 31, 2010 and said commission shall expire on May 31,
2010.
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LC02162
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