Bill Sponsors
Acosta, Gallo, Raptakis, Mack, Zurier, Bissaillon, Valverde, DiPalma, Murray, and McKenney
Committee
Senate Education
Summary
Select
This legislation mandates that all public schools in Rhode Island begin their academic year on the same date. This requirement applies to traditional public schools, district charter schools, independent charter schools, and mayoral academies. The specific start date for each year will be determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. While the bill standardizes the start date, it maintains existing requirements regarding the minimum number of school days and hours.
Sponsor
Analysis
Pros for Progressives
- Promotes equity by ensuring that all students across the state, regardless of whether they attend traditional or charter schools, begin their educational access on the same timeline.
- Simplifies logistics for working-class families who may have children attending different types of schools (e.g., one in a district school, one in a mayoral academy), making childcare and transportation planning easier.
- Strengthens the cohesive nature of the public education system by integrating charter schools and mayoral academies into the standard state schedule, reducing fragmentation.
Cons for Progressives
- Reduces the ability of local communities to tailor their school calendars to specific local cultural needs or events that might be important to that specific population.
- Could potentially conflict with collective bargaining agreements if local teachers' unions have negotiated specific calendar parameters that differ from the state mandate.
- May stifle the flexibility of innovative school models (like independent charters) that might benefit from alternative scheduling to better serve disadvantaged students.
Pros for Conservatives
- Creates a predictable, uniform schedule across the state, which assists businesses in planning for seasonal employment of students and managing workforce vacations.
- Eliminates chaotic variability between districts, enforcing a sense of order and standardization within the taxpayer-funded education system.
- Ensures that charter schools and mayoral academies are held to the same scheduling standards as traditional schools, preventing disparate treatment.
Cons for Conservatives
- Strips local school committees and municipalities of the authority to determine their own operations, handing that power to a centralized state bureaucracy.
- Undermines the autonomy of charter schools and mayoral academies, which were created specifically to operate with more freedom from state mandates.
- Expands the power of the unelected Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to dictate daily life for families across the state.
Constitutional Concerns
None Likely
Impact Overview
Groups Affected
- Public School Students
- Parents and Guardians
- School Teachers and Staff
- Charter School Administrators
- School Committees
Towns Affected
All
Cost to Taxpayers
None
Revenue Generated
None
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Bill Status
Current Status
Held
Comm Passed
Floor Passed
Law
History
• 01/09/2026 Introduced, referred to Senate Education
Bill Text
SECTION 1. Section 16-2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-2 entitled "School Committees and Superintendents [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows:
16-2-2. City and town schools required — School year — Location — Kindergartens.
(a)(1) Except as specifically provided in this section, every city or town shall establish and maintain for at least one hundred eighty (180) days annually or the equivalent thereof, exclusive of holidays, a sufficient number of schools in convenient places under the control and management of the school committee and under the supervision of the Rhode Island Board of Education. In lieu of a convenient location, the school committee may provide transportation for pupils to and from school in accordance with the provisions of chapter 21 of this title. Provided, that a school district may establish a school year that is the equivalent of one hundred eighty (180) days through the use of longer school days or combination of longer and shorter school days in terms of school hours, or pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and that may total less than one hundred eighty (180) separate days, so long as through the use of longer school days or through the use of a combination of longer and shorter school days, the school district annually provides a minimum of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours in a single school year. For purposes of clarification, the intent herein is to permit school districts flexibility in the delivery of educational services, but to ensure that in doing so, school districts shall still provide one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours in a single school year and shall still provide any instructional hours minimum in a single school year. Provided, however, that the flexibility granted herein also applies to a daily instructional hours minimum otherwise required by the Rhode Island Board of Education or by the department of elementary and secondary education. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit a school district from exceeding the minimum amounts of days and hours set forth herein. Provided further, that the academic school year for all public schools, including traditional public schools, district charter schools, independent charter schools, and mayoral academies, shall start on the same date of each calendar year, which date shall be determined by the department of elementary and secondary education.
(2) School districts intending to make use of the flexibility provided herein shall submit a detailed school day plan and a proposed school calendar to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education for approval. The commissioner shall review the submitted school day plan and the submitted calendar to determine whether the plan and calendar are academically sound and fiscally efficient. The commissioner shall not unreasonably deny the plan and/or the calendar.
(3) Professional development, including common planning time, is critically important to provide the best instruction for students, meet legislative requirements, and maintain best practices. For this reason, districts are allowed the flexible use early release days; provided that districts meet the yearly requirement of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours.
(b) School facilities shall include a sufficient number of kindergartens.
(c) On or before December 1, 2017, the department of elementary and secondary education shall establish a policy that allows a school district to submit a detailed plan, at any time, to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education that would allow the schools to conduct instruction through virtual education when the schools have been closed due to inclement weather or other emergency. The plan for virtual education would be subject to, and require approval by, the council on elementary and secondary education in order to count as a school day.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
16-2-2. City and town schools required — School year — Location — Kindergartens.
(a)(1) Except as specifically provided in this section, every city or town shall establish and maintain for at least one hundred eighty (180) days annually or the equivalent thereof, exclusive of holidays, a sufficient number of schools in convenient places under the control and management of the school committee and under the supervision of the Rhode Island Board of Education. In lieu of a convenient location, the school committee may provide transportation for pupils to and from school in accordance with the provisions of chapter 21 of this title. Provided, that a school district may establish a school year that is the equivalent of one hundred eighty (180) days through the use of longer school days or combination of longer and shorter school days in terms of school hours, or pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and that may total less than one hundred eighty (180) separate days, so long as through the use of longer school days or through the use of a combination of longer and shorter school days, the school district annually provides a minimum of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours in a single school year. For purposes of clarification, the intent herein is to permit school districts flexibility in the delivery of educational services, but to ensure that in doing so, school districts shall still provide one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours in a single school year and shall still provide any instructional hours minimum in a single school year. Provided, however, that the flexibility granted herein also applies to a daily instructional hours minimum otherwise required by the Rhode Island Board of Education or by the department of elementary and secondary education. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit a school district from exceeding the minimum amounts of days and hours set forth herein. Provided further, that the academic school year for all public schools, including traditional public schools, district charter schools, independent charter schools, and mayoral academies, shall start on the same date of each calendar year, which date shall be determined by the department of elementary and secondary education.
(2) School districts intending to make use of the flexibility provided herein shall submit a detailed school day plan and a proposed school calendar to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education for approval. The commissioner shall review the submitted school day plan and the submitted calendar to determine whether the plan and calendar are academically sound and fiscally efficient. The commissioner shall not unreasonably deny the plan and/or the calendar.
(3) Professional development, including common planning time, is critically important to provide the best instruction for students, meet legislative requirements, and maintain best practices. For this reason, districts are allowed the flexible use early release days; provided that districts meet the yearly requirement of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours.
(b) School facilities shall include a sufficient number of kindergartens.
(c) On or before December 1, 2017, the department of elementary and secondary education shall establish a policy that allows a school district to submit a detailed plan, at any time, to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education that would allow the schools to conduct instruction through virtual education when the schools have been closed due to inclement weather or other emergency. The plan for virtual education would be subject to, and require approval by, the council on elementary and secondary education in order to count as a school day.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.