Expands the requirement that all high schools and middle schools, whether they are publicly or privately run to maintain on site a functional AED while establishing and implementing a cardiac emergency response plan in these schools.
This bill creates a special legislative commission to study how Rhode Island school districts can share services to address funding and operational challenges. The commission will consist of thirteen members, including legislators, state officials, education leaders, business representatives, and a student, who will meet without pay to investigate potential shared service models. State agencies are required to provide necessary information to the commission, which must submit its findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives by April 30, 2027, before the group expires.
Provides that any schools days a public school is closed due to a declared state of emergency be deemed excused for purposes of compliance with minimum school days calendar requirements.
HB 7114 permits schools to assign special community service as a disciplinary measure for students who bully others based on religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. This policy directly affects students who commit such bullying and school administrators implementing disciplinary actions. The key provision replaces traditional punishments (like suspension) with community service for these specific types of bullying incidents. The bill does not define bullying but offers an alternative consequence for violations targeting these protected characteristics. It is currently under review by the House Education committee.
Expands foster care academic youth reports to include information regarding 504 eligibility, graduation progress and surrogate parents. The act would require implementation of additional strategies to improve performance and additional progress reports.
Prohibits an educational institution or school district from accessing or using location data for tracking a student's institutional device or personal device, except in limited circumstances.
This bill allows the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Parent-Teacher Organization to regain its legal status if it files overdue annual reports and pays associated fees by December 31, 2026. The organization, which was previously facing charter forfeiture due to failure to submit required filings from 1983 through 2026, would be restored to full legal privileges upon completing these requirements. The legislation extends the deadline for submitting these reports and requires payment of both filing fees and a penalty amount determined by the attorney general. Once these conditions are met, the organization will be treated as if the charter revocation never occurred.
Redefines dyslexia to mean a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties in word reading and/or spelling that involve accuracy, speed, or both and vary depending on the orthography.
Expands the definition of "educational program" for purposes of the abused and neglected children general law to include charter schools, parochial schools, after school programs, camps and various other programs involving children.
Extends the reporting and expiration dates of the commission to study an anti-littering education program for RI public elementary school students from February 2, 2026, to February 2, 2027, and would expire on April 2, 2027.