Chapter 358
2013 -- S 1035 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/15/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
EDUCATION -- FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN ACCESSIBILITY ACT
Introduced By: Senator Hanna M. Gallo
Date Introduced: June 27, 2013
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 16-99-4 and 16-99-5 of the General Laws
in Chapter 16-99
entitled “Full-Day Kindergarten Accessibility Act” are hereby
amended to read as follows:
16-99-4.
Eligible school districts; funding. -- (a) A
school district shall be eligible
to receive request funding pursuant to
subsection 16-96-4(b) 16-99-4(b), if:
(1) The school district
is a public school district; and
(2) The school district
operates a half-day kindergarten program as of September 1, 2011
2012, but
not a full-day kindergarten, as defined herein, serving more than one-half of
the
kindergarten students in the district as determined on a headcount
basis.
(b) Subject to
appropriation, beginning with school year 2013-2014, the commissioner of
elementary and secondary education shall approve up to four (4)
eligible public school districts
per year to voluntarily implement a full-day kindergarten
program as defined herein. The
aforementioned schools school district shall receive
funding to offset a portion of the reasonable
one-time, start-up costs including, but not limited to, desks,
books, facility upgrades, ancillary
costs associated with relocation of students, costs
associated with the development and
implementation of new curriculum, and any other necessary expenses associated with each
school's implementation of a full-day kindergarten program.
Funds will be appropriated based
upon criteria established by the commissioner of elementary
and secondary education to ensure
the quality and sustainability of the full-day
kindergarten programs implemented.
(c) If more than four
(4) eligible school districts apply in one year, or if the appropriation
does not support four (4) eligible districts, the
commissioner of elementary and secondary
education shall determine which districts shall access the
available funds for start-up costs. The
commissioner's decision shall consider the sustainability of the
program and the average number
of children eligible for USDA reimbursable school meals
served by the respective district’s
elementary schools. The commissioner may consider the school district’s plan ability
of the
district to house the kindergarten enrollment, implement a
quality full-day program. ,and
sustain
the program once implemented, and the decision should
maximize the number of students that
can enter full-day kindergarten program for that year.
(d) School districts
receiving funds pursuant to this chapter must operate only a full-day
program, no half-day programs. The full-day kindergarten
program must continue to operate for
five (5) years.
(e) All funding provided
under this section is subject to appropriation.
(f) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (d), school districts who request funding
pursuant to this chapter may be allowed to phase-in the
implementation of a full-day kindergarten
program, provided that the district provides the department
of elementary and secondary
education with a schedule and plan as to the implementation of
such program.
16-99-5. Reporting.-- The
education shall report to the senate president, speaker of the
house, and the governor on
the progress of this initiative on or before May 1st, 2013
2014, and on an annual basis by
May 1st of each year thereafter.
SECTION 2. Section 16-7-22 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-7 entitled "Foundation
16-7-22.
Determination of average daily membership. -- Each
community shall be
paid pursuant to the provisions of section 16-7-17 an
amount based upon the following
provisions:
(1) On or before September
1 of each year the average daily membership of each city
and town for the reference year shall be determined by
the commissioner of elementary and
secondary education from data supplied by the school committee
in each community in the
following manner: The aggregate number of days of membership of
all pupils enrolled full time
in grade twelve (12) and below, except that pupils below
grade one who are not full time shall be
counted on a full time equivalent basis: (i)
increased by the aggregate number of days of
membership of pupils residing in the particular city or town
whose tuition in schools approved by
the department of elementary and secondary education in
other cities and towns is paid by the
particular city or town; and (ii) decreased by the aggregate
number of days of membership of
nonresident pupils enrolled in the public schools of the
particular city or town and further
decreased by the aggregate number of days of membership equal
to the number of group home
beds calculated for the purposes of reimbursement pursuant
to section 14-64-1.1; and (iii)
decreased further, in the case of a city or town which is a
member of a regional school district
during the first year of operation of the regional school
district, by the aggregate number of days
of membership of pupils residing in the city or town who
would have attended the public schools
in the regional school district if the regional school
district had been operating during the
previous year, divided by the number of days during which the
schools were officially in session
during the reference year. The resulting figures shall be
the average daily membership for the city
or town for the reference year. For purposes of
calculating the permanent foundation education
aid as described in section 16-7.2-3(1) and (2), the
average daily membership for school districts
shall exclude charter school and state school students.,
and beginning in school year 2014-2015,
include an estimate to ensure that districts converting from
a half-day to a full-day kindergarten
program pursuant to section 16-99-4 are, credited on a
full-time basis beginning in the first year
of enrollment.
(2) The average daily
membership of pupils attending public schools shall apply for the
purposes of determining the percentage of the state's share
under the provisions of sections 16-7-
16(3), 16-7-16(10), 16-7-18,
16-7-19, 16-7-20, 16-7-21 and 16-7.2-4.
(3) In the case of
regional school districts, the aggregate number of days of membership
by which each city or town is decreased in subdivision
(1)(iii) of this section divided by the
number of days during which the schools attended by the
pupils were officially in session shall
determine the average daily membership for the regional school
district during the first year of
operation. After the first year of operation, the average daily
membership of each regional school
district, except the Chariho
regional high school district, shall be determined by the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education from data supplied
by the school committee of each
regional school district for the reference year in the manner
provided in subdivision (1) of this
section.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall
include additional funding
in the foundation educational aid estimate.
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LC02913/SUB A
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