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| ARTICLE 6 |
RELATING TO EDUCATION
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| SECTION 1. Sections 16-99-2, 16-99-3 and 16-99-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16- |
| 99 entitled "Full-Day Kindergarten Accessibility Act" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 16-99-2. Legislative findings. -- The general assembly hereby finds and declares as |
| follows: |
| (1) According to the National Center for Education Statistics, children in full-day |
| kindergarten classes make greater academic gains in both reading and mathematics compared to |
| those in half-day classes; |
| (2) According to Kids Count RI, full-day kindergarten can contribute to closing |
| academic achievement gaps between lower and higher income children; |
| (3) According to the National Center for Education Statistics, full-day kindergarten |
| classes are more likely than half-day classes to instruct students daily in the areas of mathematics, |
| social studies and science; and |
| (4) According to Kids Count RI, children in full-day kindergarten are more likely to be |
| ready for first grade than those in half-day programs, regardless of family income, parental |
| education and school characteristics; and. |
| (5) While this act does not mandate school districts to operate a full-day kindergarten |
| program, it provides limited one-time, start-up funding for school districts that move to provide |
| students with access to full-day kindergarten programs, distributed on a competitive basis. |
| 16-99-3. Full-day kindergarten. -- (a) For the purpose of this chapter, the term "full-day |
| kindergarten" means a kindergarten program that operates a minimum of five and one-half (5 1/2) |
| hours or three hundred thirty (330) minutes of actual school work, excluding lunch, recess |
| periods, common planning time, pre- and post-school teacher time, study halls, homeroom |
| periods, student passing time and any other time that is not actual instructional time. |
| (b) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education has discretion to further |
| define and approve full-day kindergarten programs consistent with this section through the 2015- |
| 2016 school year. |
| (c) Beginning August 2016, each school district must offer full-day kindergarten to every |
| eligible student to qualify for state education aid provided for in title 16. In fiscal year 2016, the |
| Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall provide funding to support |
| transition expenses for all districts that do not offer universal full-day kindergarten programs in |
| the 2015-2016 school year. This funding shall not exceed the amount of state aid that would |
| otherwise have been provided to the district for operating a universal full-day kindergarten |
| program and shall be based upon 2015 enrollment data and funding formula transition rates. For |
| purposes of the calculation under this section, a district's half-day kindergarten enrollment as of |
| March 2015 shall be multiplied by two. |
| 16-99-4. Eligible school districts; funding. -- (a) A school district shall be eligible to |
| request funding pursuant to ยง 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, |
| 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, and through school |
| year 2014-2015, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall rank and approve |
| eligible public school districts that voluntarily implement a full-day kindergarten program as |
| defined herein. The aforementioned 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. Ranking shall be 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. |
| In ranking the school districts' proposals, the commissioner shall consider the quality and |
| sustainability of the program and the average number of children eligible for USDA reimbursable |
| school meals served by the respective district's elementary schools with priority given to school |
| districts with enrollment greater than eight thousand (8,000). |
| If no school district has enrollment greater than eight thousand (8,000), then priority |
| shall be given to school districts with enrollment greater than four thousand (4,000). |
| (c) The commissioner shall fully fund all eligible expenditures of each district in rank |
| order. If a district's proposal cannot be fully funded, the district may either accept the available |
| funding for the project or refuse funding. If funding is refused, the commissioner shall fund the |
| next eligible school district's request based on the aforementioned ranking. |
| (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 that 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. |
| SECTION 2. This article shall take effect upon passage. |