| Chapter 254 |
| 2019 -- S 1032 Enacted 07/15/2019 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CURRICULUM [SEE TITLE 16 CHAPTER 97 -- THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT] |
| Introduced By: Senators Seveney, Miller, and Gallo |
| Date Introduced: June 27, 2019 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 16-22-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-22 entitled "Curriculum |
| [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read |
| as follows: |
| 16-22-4. Instruction in health and physical education. |
| (a) All children in grades one through twelve (12) attending public schools, or any other |
| schools managed and controlled by the state, shall receive in those schools instruction in health |
| and physical education under rules and regulations the department of elementary and secondary |
| education may prescribe or approve during periods that shall average at least twenty (20) minutes |
| in each school day. No private school or private instruction shall be approved by any school |
| committee for the purposes of chapter 19 of this title as substantially equivalent to that required |
| by law of a child attending a public school in the same city or town unless instruction in health |
| and physical education similar to that required in public schools shall be given. Commencing |
| September 1, 2012, the required health education curriculum shall be based on the health |
| education standards of the Rhode Island health education framework: health literacy for all |
| students as promulgated by the Rhode Island department of education and consistent with the |
| mandated health instructional outcomes therein. Commencing September 1, 2012, the required |
| physical education curriculum shall be based on the physical education standards of the Rhode |
| Island physical education framework: supporting physically active lifestyles through quality |
| physical education as promulgated by the Rhode Island department of education and consistent |
| with the instructional outcomes therein. |
| (b) The department of elementary and secondary education shall incorporate, in |
| consultation with the state department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and |
| hospitals, substance-abuse prevention and suicide prevention into the health education |
| curriculum. For the purpose of this section, "substance-abuse prevention" means the |
| implementation of evidence-based, age-appropriate programs, practices, or curricula related to the |
| use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; "suicide prevention" means the |
| implementation of evidence-based, appropriate programs, practices, or curricula related to mental |
| health awareness and suicide prevention. Further, "substance-abuse prevention" and suicide |
| prevention programs shall specifically include information provided to students that mixing |
| opioids and alcohol can cause accidental death. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC002924 |
| ======== |