Signed by Governor Don Carcieri

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that establishes a permanent formula for calculating education funding in Rhode Island.

Highlights:

-Establishes a permanent formula, beginning in the 2012 fiscal year, to determine state and local shares of education funding that takes into account, but is not limited to, the total number of students enrolled in a district and the number of students enrolled in a district that are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (Sec. 4). -Requires state funds appropriated for education to be used only for that purpose, and only as a supplement to, not a replacement for, local education funds (Sec. 1). -Requires each community to provide education funding that is greater than or equal to its contribution for schools in the previous fiscal year, except that for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 each community is required to contribute at least 95 percent of the contribution it made in fiscal year 2009 (Sec. 1). -Requires each community to provide education funding that, when combined with state and federal education aid, is greater than or equal to the costs of the basic education program during the year plus the costs of all optional programs shared by the state (Sec. 1). -Authorizes high per pupil expenditure communities and high local contribution communities that provide full funding of the basic education program and all other approved programs to reduce local school funding contributions by up to 10 percent of any increase it receives in state school funds (Sec. 1). -Defines a "high per pupil expenditure community" as any community that has an education funding contribution which, when combined with state education aid, provides full funding of the basic education program and exceeds the benchmarks established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for costs outside the education aid formula (Sec. 1). -Defines a "high local contribution community" as any community that contributes at least 85 percent of funds for the basic education program (Sec. 1). -Requires the costs of education for a student attending a charter public school to be paid by the student's home school district (Sec. 4). -Requires the costs of education for a student attending a regional career and technical school to be shared by the state and the student's home school district (Sec. 3). -Requires the costs of transporting a student to a charter school or a career and technical school to be paid by the school the student attends (Sec. 2). -Establishes the Central Falls Stabilization Fund to ensure that the city of Central Falls can meet its share of local education costs (Sec. 4). -Requires the state school housing aid share to be no less than 30 percent, and that the 30 percent share floor will increase by 5 percent increments each year until the state share is at least 40 percent for school housing projects completed after June 30, 2010 (Sec. 1). -Requires state schools currently participating in the state retirement system that are not receiving reimbursement to have their state aid adjusted to reflect full reimbursement for employer retirement contributions (Sec. 3). -This is a substitute bill sponsored by the House Committee on Finance.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a permanent formula for calculating education funding in Rhode Island.

Highlights:

-Establishes a permanent formula, beginning in the 2012 fiscal year, to determine state and local shares of education funding that takes into account, but is not limited to, the total number of students enrolled in a district and the number of students enrolled in a district that are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (Sec. 4). -Requires state funds appropriated for education to be used only for that purpose, and only as a supplement to, not a replacement for, local education funds (Sec. 1). -Requires each community to provide education funding that is greater than or equal to its contribution for schools in the previous fiscal year, except that for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 each community is required to contribute at least 95 percent of the contribution it made in fiscal year 2009 (Sec. 1). -Requires each community to provide education funding that, when combined with state and federal education aid, is greater than or equal to the costs of the basic education program during the year plus the costs of all optional programs shared by the state (Sec. 1). -Authorizes high per pupil expenditure communities and high local contribution communities that provide full funding of the basic education program and all other approved programs to reduce local school funding contributions by up to 10 percent of any increase it receives in state school funds (Sec. 1). -Defines a "high per pupil expenditure community" as any community that has an education funding contribution which, when combined with state education aid, provides full funding of the basic education program and exceeds the benchmarks established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for costs outside the education aid formula (Sec. 1). -Defines a "high local contribution community" as any community that contributes at least 85 percent of funds for the basic education program (Sec. 1). -Requires the costs of education for a student attending a charter public school to be paid by the student's home school district (Sec. 4). -Requires the costs of education for a student attending a regional career and technical school to be shared by the state and the student's home school district (Sec. 3). -Requires the costs of transporting a student to a charter school or a career and technical school to be paid by the school the student attends (Sec. 2). -Establishes the Central Falls Stabilization Fund to ensure that the city of Central Falls can meet its share of local education costs (Sec. 4). -Requires the state school housing aid share to be no less than 30 percent, and that the 30 percent share floor will increase by 5 percent increments each year until the state share is at least 40 percent for school housing projects completed after June 30, 2010 (Sec. 1). -Requires state schools currently participating in the state retirement system that are not receiving reimbursement to have their state aid adjusted to reflect full reimbursement for employer retirement contributions (Sec. 3). -This is a substitute bill sponsored by the House Committee on Finance.

Full Bill Text