HB 7501 allocates $100,000 in the 2026-2027 budget to support mental health and emotional well-being for K-12 students in out-of-school time (OST) programs, such as after-school and summer programs. It provides funding for staff training in trauma-informed practices, peer support groups, mental health resources, and culturally responsive activities designed by local communities. The funds will be distributed competitively through Rhode Island’s Afterschool Network to prioritize programs serving high-need youth across urban, suburban, and rural areas. This policy directly affects community-based OST programs and their staff, enabling flexible support for youth mental health needs.
Submits a proposition to be placed on the ballot at the next general election authorizing the issuance of bonds for a medical school on the University of Rhode Island's Kingston campus.
Gives teachers who takes an unpaid parental or medical leave during the year credit for a year of service for that school year if they served a minimum of 135 days.
Directs the department of elementary and secondary education to provide a two-year pilot program that coordinates a national cultural exchange program for students of this state.
Establishes guidelines, rules and regulations for the implementation and expansion of prekindergarten education programs for children ages 3-4 to increase children’s school readiness statewide.
Expands council on elementary and secondary education and board of education and makes teacher of year and student advisory chair voting members on each.
Allows Rhode Island employers can help pay employees’ student loans in high-need fields if they work full-time for 2 years in undeserved areas and are in an income driven repayment plan. RISLA must provide annual reporting.
Requires the installation and use of a weapons detection system at every public entrance to any school building, gymnasium, school event facility, sporting event site and any site where a school hosts or participates in an event even if off campus.
HB 8114 requires the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) director to share a child’s school enrollment information with the child’s school nurse when that child is placed in foster care. This directly affects school nurses, DCYF staff, and children in foster care who attend public schools. The key provision mandates DCYF to proactively provide this enrollment detail to school nurses to ensure continuity of care. The bill aims to improve communication between child welfare and school staff for foster youth.
Allows teachers, state and municipal employees to retire when they have at least twenty-eight (28) years of active service and their retirement age, when combined with the number of their years of service reaches, the number eighty-five (85).
