Chapter 368
2022 -- S 2281
Enacted 06/29/2022

A N   A C T
RELATING TO EDUCATION -- COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE -- SEE TITLE 16 CHAPTER 97 - THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT

Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Coyne, Goodwin, Euer, Murray, and Archambault

Date Introduced: February 15, 2022

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Section 16-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-19 entitled "Compulsory
Attendance [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
     16-19-1. Attendance required.
     (a) Every child who has completed, or will have completed, six (6) years of life on or before
September 1 of any school year, or is enrolled in kindergarten, and has not completed eighteen (18)
years of life, shall regularly attend some public day school during all the days and hours that the
public schools are in session in the city or town in which the child resides. The public school shall
be responsible for regular attendance data monitoring of all students and early identification of
emergent truant behavior. Prior to referring truant students to family court, schools must do their
due diligence to assure all interventions have taken place. This includes, and is not limited to:
     (1) Consultation with the parent or guardian; and
     (2) Coordination with the student's school-identified support team such as the
individualized education plan, behavioral support, or attendance teams.
     Every person having under his or her control a child, as described in this section, shall
cause the child to attend school as required by this section, and for every neglect of this duty, the
person having control of the child shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day,
or part of a day, that the child fails to attend school, and if the total of these days is more than thirty
(30) school days during any school year, then the person shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned not
exceeding six (6) months or shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both;
provided, that if the person so charged shall prove that the child has attended, for the required period
of time, a private day school approved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education
pursuant to ยง 16-60-6(10); or a course of at-home instruction approved by the school committee of
the town where the child resides; or has been accepted into an accredited postsecondary education
program; or has obtained a waiver under subsection (b); or that the physical or mental condition of
the child was such as to render his or her attendance at school inexpedient or impracticable; or that
the child was excluded from school by virtue of some other general law or regulation, then
attendance shall not be obligatory nor shall the penalty be incurred.
     (b) A waiver to the compulsory attendance requirement may be granted by the
superintendent only upon proof that the pupil is sixteen (16) years of age or older and has an
alternative learning plan for obtaining either a high school diploma or its equivalent.
     (1) Alternative-learning plans shall include age-appropriate academic rigor and the
flexibility to incorporate the pupil's interests and manner of learning. These plans may include, but
are not limited to, such components, or combination of components, of extended learning
opportunities as independent study, private instruction, performing groups, internships, community
service, apprenticeships, and online courses that are currently funded and available to the school
department and/or the community.
     (2) Alternative-learning plans shall be developed, and amended if necessary, in
consultation with the pupil, a school guidance counselor, the school principal, and at least one
parent or guardian of the pupil, and submitted to the superintendent for approval.
     (3) If the superintendent does not approve the alternative-learning plan, the parent or
guardian of the pupil may appeal such decision to the school committee. A parent or guardian may
appeal the decision of the school committee to the commissioner of education pursuant to chapter
39 of title 16.
     (c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or otherwise interfere with the rights of
teachers and other school employees to collectively bargain pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of title
28 or to allow any school committee to abrogate any agreement reached by collective bargaining.
     (d) No school shall use a student's truancy or absenteeism as the sole basis for using an out-
of-school suspension as a disciplinary action.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC004346
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