ARTICLE 5 AS AMENDED
RELATING TO
EDUCATION AID
SECTION 1. Section 16-7.1-15 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-7.1 entitled “The Paul
W. Crowley Rhode Island
Student Investment Initiative” is hereby amended to read as follows:
16-7.1-15.
The Paul W.
Each locally or regionally operated school district
shall receive as a base the same amount of
school aid as each district received in fiscal year
1997-1998, adjusted to reflect the increases or
decreases in aid enacted to meet the minimum and maximum
funding levels established for FY
2000 through FY 2008. Each school district shall also receive school aid
through each investment
fund for which that district qualifies pursuant to §§
16-7.1-8, 16-7.1-9, 16-7.1-10, 16-7.1-11, 16-
7.1-12, 16-7.1-16 and 16-7.1-19. These sums shall be
in addition to the base amount described in
this section. For FY 2009 and FY 2010, the reference year
for the data used in the calculation of
aid pursuant to § 16-7.1-8, § 16-7.1-9, § 16-7.1-10, §
16-7.1-11, § 16-7.1-11.1, § 16-7.1-12, § 16-
7.1-16, § 16-7.1-19 and 16-77.1-2(b) shall be FY 2004.
Calculation and distribution of education
aid under §§ 16-5-31, 16-5-32, 16-7-20, 16-7-20.5,
16-7-34.2, 16-7-34.3, 16-24-6, 16-54-4, and
16-67-4 is hereby suspended. Provided, however,
calculation and distribution of education aid
under § 16-7.1-10 is suspended for FY 2009 and FY 2010.
School districts may continue to
maintain professional development programs and may reduce
other education programs to
achieve savings during FY 2009 and FY 2010. The funding of
the purposes and activities of
chapter 67 of this title, the Rhode Island Literacy and
Dropout Prevention Act of 1967, shall be
the same amount of the base amount of each district
funded for that purpose in fiscal year 1997-
1998. In addition each district shall expend three
percent (3%) of its student equity and early
childhood funds under the provisions of chapter 67 of this
title.
(b) Funding for full day
kindergarten programs in accordance with § 16-7.1-11.1 shall be
in addition to funding received under this section.
(c) Funding distributed
under §§ 16-77.1-2(b) and 16-64-1.1 shall be in addition to
funding distributed under this section.
(d) For FY 2009, aid to
school districts shall be reduced by the equivalent savings that are
realized due to a reduction of payments to the teachers'
retirement system. The reduction for the
Chariho regional school district shall be prorated among the
member communities. In addition,
for FY 2009 aid to school districts shall be reduced by
any amount of previously appropriated
school housing aid determined to be ineligible for
reimbursement in accordance with § 16-7-44.2.
For FY 2009 aid shall also be reduced by the amount of
projected revenue for the period
December 1, 2008 through June 30,
2009 from the permanent school fund.
The projected revenue
shall be determined by annualizing actual earnings from the
period May 12, 2008 through
November 30, 2008. The department of elementary and
secondary education shall reduce aid in
two equal installments, payable in May and June; provided
however, that
receive one payment of reduced aid in May.
For FY 2009, aid to
school districts shall include thirty eight million, three hundred
twenty-four thousand, eight hundred twenty-two dollars
($38,324,822) from federal fiscal
stabilization funds offset by a like reduction from general revenues.
The distribution shall be in
the same proportion as general operating aid.
(e) Districts shall
comply with the assurances and reporting requirements provided in the
federal guidance for the (ARRA) allocation and by the
commissioner of elementary and
secondary education.
(f) There shall be an
appropriation to ensure that total aid distributed to communities in
FY 2010 under this section and §§ 16-7.1-11.1,
16-64-1.1 and 16-77.1-2(b) and excluding any FY
2009 Stabilization reappropriations
shall be as follows:
FY
2010
Stimulus
Fiscal
Stabilization
General Revenues Allocation
Burrillville 12,220,612 948,730
Foster 1,208,609 96,527
Glocester
2,754,277 219,128
Hopkinton 5,323,835 425,441
Little
Narragansett 1,314,267 125,872
New Shoreham 50,323 6,826
Tiverton 4,923,363 402,699
Westerly 5,319,551 460,458
Bristol-Warren 17,675,687 1,395,455
Exeter-West
Chariho
359,704 27,370
Foster-Glocester 4,878,574
390,339
In addition to the
amounts listed above, the department of elementary and secondary
education shall allocate monthly to each school district all
funds received into the permanent
school fund pursuant to § 42-61.2-7, as amended by chapter
13 of the 2008 Public Laws entitled
"An Act Relating to State Affairs and
Government", up to $14.1 million, in the same proportion
as the aid distribution in the FY 2009 enacted
appropriations act. This special provision shall not
limit entitlements as determined by application of other formula
provisions in this section.
(g) For FY 2009 payments
to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a reduction of payments to
the teachers' retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring school
district's aid as noted in subsection (f). Aid to charter public
schools shall be reduced in the April
quarterly payment. For FY 2009, charter public school funding
is as follows:
Compass 614,485
Paul Cuffee
4,449,006
CVS Highlander 2,596,782
International 2,863,818
Learning Community 3,669,529
NE Laborer's 1,508,866
Textron 2,361,370
Times 2 Academy 6,870,410
(h) For FY 2010,
payments to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a reduction of payments to
the teachers' retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring schools
district's aid as noted in subsection (f). For FY 2010, payments
to charter public schools shall be
reduced by one million four hundred sixty-three thousand
three hundred sixty-seven dollars
($1,463,367) based on the charter schools' share of
total FY 2009 enacted education aid,
including school districts and state schools. For FY 2010, a
distribution of stabilization funds per
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
totaling one million four hundred
seventy-one thousand eighty-seven dollars ($1,471,087) shall
be allocated to charter public
schools proportionately based on their share of total FY 2009
enacted education aid, including
school districts and state schools.
(2) For FY 2010,
payments to charter public schools shall be further reduced by one
million one hundred fifty-eight thousand one dollars
($1,158,001) based on the charter schools'
share of total FY 2010 originally enacted education aid.
For FY 2010, an additional distribution
of stabilization funds per the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) totaling one
hundred ninety-seven thousand seven hundred fifty-two dollars
($197,752) shall be allocated to
charter public schools proportionately based on their share
of total FY 2010 originally enacted
education aid.
(3) Public charter
schools shall comply with the assurances and reporting requirements
provided in the federal guidance for the (ARRA) allocation and
by the commissioner of
elementary and secondary education.
(i)
There shall be deducted from the final aid payment to each school district any
amounts
owed to the state at the end of the fiscal year for transportation
of the district's students under the
statewide transportation system established pursuant to
R.I.G.L. 16-21.1-7 and 16-21.1-8.
Districts shall receive monthly invoices summarizing
the basis of the transportation fees charged.
Any such deductions in aid shall be transferred to the
statewide student transportation services
restricted receipt account.
(j) The provisions of
R.I.G.L. 16-26-7.1 notwithstanding, districts shall be assessed
tuition to cover the costs of educational services that are
additional to the core deaf and hard of
hearing education program that is provided to resident
students at the
Deaf. This tuition shall be based on a graduated tuition
schedule that is based on the varying
needs of students. The department of elementary and
secondary education shall develop and
implement the schedule. Districts shall receive monthly
invoices summarizing the basis for the
tuition charged. There shall be deducted from the final aid
payment to each school district at the
end of the fiscal year any amounts owed to the state for
these additional educational services.
(k) Children with
disabilities. (1) Based on its review of special education within the
context of
all children and preventing disability through scientific
research based, as described in the No
Child Left Behind Act of
2001, Title 1, Part B, Section 1208 [20 U.S.C. § 6368], reading
instruction and the development of Personal Literacy Programs for
students in the early grades
performing below grade level in reading and implement a system
of student accountability that
will enable the state to track individual students over
time. Additionally, the department of
elementary and secondary education must provide districts with
rigorous criteria and procedures
for identifying students with learning disabilities and
speech/language impairments. Additional
study is required of factors that influence programming for
students with low incidence
disabilities; those with disabilities that severely compromise
life functions; and programming for
students with disabilities through urban special education.
Alternatives for funding special
education require examination.
(2) All departments and
agencies of the state shall furnish any advice and information,
documentary and otherwise, to the general assembly and its agents
that is deemed necessary or
desirable by the study to facilitate the purposes of this
section.
(l) For FY 2011, aid to
school districts shall be reduced by the equivalent savings that are
realized due to a reduction of payments to the teachers'
retirement system. The reduction for the
Chariho regional school district shall be prorated among the
member communities. For FY 2011,
aid to school districts shall be further reduced by
twenty million four hundred ninety thousand
one hundred thirty-seven dollars ($20,490,137) from the
FY 2010 originally enacted level based
on the school district's share of total FY 2010
originally enacted education aid, including aid to
state schools and charter schools. For FY 2011, a
distribution of federal stabilization funds made
available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA), in the amount of
seventeen million four hundred thirty-one thousand nine hundred
four dollars ($17,431,904), shall
be allocated to school districts proportionately based
on their share of total FY 2010 originally
enacted education aid, including aid to state schools and
charter schools.
(m) There shall be an
appropriation to ensure that total aid distributed to communities in
FY 2011 under this section and §§ 16-7.1-11.1,
16-64-1.1 and 16-77.1-2(b), excluding any FY
2009 and FY 2010 Stabilization reappropriations, shall be
as follows:
FY 2011 FY 2011
General Stimulus
Fiscal
Revenue Stabilization
1,709,541
1,712,863 68,151
64,829
Burrillville 12,723,172 12,736,916
326,139 312,396
1,658,980
1,661,061 49,284
47,203
17,625,624
17,646,066 480,946
460,504
30,876,770
30,913,084 852,976
816,662
11,534,855
11,548,713 318,784
304,926
1,277,951
1,280,422 49,760
47,289
23,891,690 23,918,627 640,267 613,330
Foster 1,259,241
1,260,670 33,780
32,351
Glocester
2,869,462
2,872,692 76,538
73,308
Hopkinton 5,547,160 5,553,441
148,729 142,447
373,118
373,817 13,728
13,029
9,351,204
9,362,199 258,452
247,456
6,139,669
6,147,563 181,008
173,114
Little 279,301
279,764 9,269
8,806
9,312,401
9,323,001 250,345
239,745
Narragansett 1,375,277 1,377,507
48,407 46,177
10,528,468
10,540,392 283,585
271,661
New Shoreham 53,154 53,292 2,926 2,789
10,344,125
10,356,579 289,005
276,550
11,787,482
11,800,998 320,061
306,546
4,226,827
4,231,887 115,855
110,796
61,160,994
61,226,793 1,582,330
1,516,531
5,806,300
5,828,378 161,798
154,719
175,216,822
175,422,098 4,596,217
4,405,942
5,522,206
5,528,422 147,191
140,975
2,830,181
2,833,854 83,341
79,668
4,759,547
4,765,663 139,730
133,614
8,942,714
8,953,748 255,978
244,944
Tiverton 5,132,318 5,138,483
142,905 136,740
32,587,668
32,626,231 906,046
867,483
Westerly 5,552,661 5,560,097
168,643 161,207
18,369,914
18,390,194 485,338
465,058
43,237,525
43,284,016 1,118,508
1,072,017
Bristol-Warren 18,411,506 18,431,734
484,936 464,709
Exeter-West 6,527,123 6,534,833 181,826 174,116
Chariho
374,376
374,768 9,291
8,899
Foster-Glocester 5,083,179
5,089,030 136,766
130,915
41,852,580 39,893,956 1,013,065 971,688
In addition to the
amounts listed above, the department of elementary and secondary
education shall allocate monthly to each school district all
funds received into the permanent
school fund pursuant to § 42-61.2-7, as amended by chapter
13 of the 2008 Public Laws entitled
"An Act Relating to State Affairs and
Government", up to $14.1 million, in the same proportion
as the aid distribution in the FY 2009 enacted
appropriations act.
This special provision
shall not limit entitlements as determined by application of other
formula provisions in this section.
(n) For FY 2009 payments
to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a reduction of payments to
the teachers' retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring school
district's aid as noted in subsection (g). Aid to charter public
schools shall be reduced in the April
quarterly payment. For FY 2009, charter public school funding
is as follows:
Compass 614,485
Paul Cuffee
4,449,006
CVS Highlander 2,596,782
International 2,863,818
Learning Community 3,669,529
NE Laborer's 1,508,866
Textron 2,361,370
Times 2 Academy 6,870,410
(o) For FY 2011, payments
to charter public schools shall be reduced by the equivalent
savings that are realized due to a reduction of payments to
the teachers' retirement system. The
reduction for district sponsored charter schools shall be
incorporated in the sponsoring schools
district's aid as noted in subsection (g). For FY 2011, payments
to charter public schools shall be
further reduced by one million seventy-six thousand nine
hundred forty-one dollars ($1,076,941)
from the FY 2010 originally enacted education aid based on
the charter schools' share of total FY
2010 enacted education aid, including aid to school
districts and state schools. For FY 2011, a
distribution of federal stabilization funds made available through
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA), in the amount of one million
forty-eight thousand six hundred dollars
($1,048,600), shall be allocated to charter public
schools proportionately based on their share of
total FY 2010 originally enacted education aid, including
aid to school districts and state schools.
SECTION 2. Chapter 16-8 of the General Laws entitled
“Federal Aid” is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following section:
16-8-15.
Education Jobs Fund. -- For FY 2012 only, state
general revenue
appropriations to all local education agencies – including school
districts, charter schools, and
state schools – shall be reduced by the amount allocated to
each local education agency under the
terms of the federal Education Jobs Fund program.
SECTION 3. Section 16-7-41.1 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-7 entitled
"
16-7-41.1.
Eligibility for reimbursement. -- School
districts, not municipalities, may
apply for and obtain approval for a project under the
necessity of school construction process set
forth in the regulations of the board of regents for
elementary and secondary education. Such
approval will remain valid until June 30 of the third fiscal
year following the fiscal year in which
the board of regents for elementary and secondary
education's approval is granted. Only those
projects undertaken at school facilities under the care and
control of the school committee and
located on school property may qualify for reimbursement
under sections 16-7-35 -- 16-7-47.
Facilities with combined school and municipal uses or
facilities that are operated jointly with any
other profit or non-profit agency do not qualify for
reimbursement under sections 16-7-35 -- 16-7-
47. Projects completed by June 30 of a fiscal year are
eligible for reimbursement in the following
fiscal year. A project for new school housing or additional
housing shall be deemed to be
completed when the work has been officially accepted by the
school committee or when the
housing is occupied for its intended use by the school
committee, whichever is earlier.
Notwithstanding the
provisions of this section, the board of regents shall not grant final
approval for any project between June 30, 2011 and June 30,
2014 except for projects that are
necessitated by immediate health and safety reasons. In the event
that a project is requested
during the moratorium because of immediate health and safety
reasons, those proposals shall be
reported to the chairs of the house and senate finance
committees.
Any project approval
granted prior to the adoption of the school construction regulations
in 2007, and which are currently inactive; and any
project approval granted prior to the adoption
of the school construction regulations in 2007 which did
not receive voter approval or which has
not been previously financed, are no longer eligible for
reimbursement under this chapter. The
department of elementary and secondary education shall develop
recommendations for further
cost containment strategies in the school housing aid
program.
SECTION 4. This Article shall take effect upon passage.