Rhode Island

Rhode Island law permits 35 charters statewide. There are currently 25 charters.

Rhode Island law allows new start-ups and public school conversions.

Under Rhode Island law, the only authorizer is the state board of education, and only after the charter school has been approved by a local school board or the state commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
Rhode Island law requires local written support for a proposed network charter school. “Written support” means a resolution or ordinance granted by the town or city council for each proposed sending district where the council considers the fiscal and educational welfare of the municipality and students after at least one public hearing. “A network charter school” is a charter school that encompasses or will encompass elementary and secondary schools or multiple elementary or multiple secondary schools. The definition of a “network charter school” exempts charter schools authorized as of the effective date of the act that creates “network charter schools.”

While the law does not require the legislature and governor to regularly review the performance of the state board of education as an authorizer, they can do so at any time. In addition, the ability of the state board of education to continue authorizing can be removed by the legislature and governor (the entities that gave it that authority).

Rhode Island law does not include any of the model law's provisions for adequate authorizer funding.

Rhode Island law provides for application elements for all schools. It also provides additional application elements specific to conversion schools. Regulations provide additional detail regarding the contents of a proposed application, including information if the use of a service provider is proposed.
Rhode Island law provides that the state commissioner of education hold a minimum of two public hearings and allow a 60-day public comment period on the issue of whether or not to approve a charter application. Regulations offer additional detail, but there is no requirement that an in-person interview be held. It does not require authorizers to issue a request for proposals.

Rhode Island law requires local written support for a proposed network charter school. “Written support” means a resolution or ordinance granted by the town or city council for each proposed sending district where the council considers the fiscal and educational welfare of the municipality and students after at least one public hearing. “A network charter school” is a charter school that encompasses or will encompass elementary and secondary schools or multiple elementary or multiple secondary schools. The definition of a “network charter school” exempts charter schools authorized as of the effective date of the act that creates “network charter schools.”

Rhode Island law requires that when considering a proposed charter or an amendment to a charter for expansion, the state council on elementary and secondary education shall place substantial weight on the fiscal impact on the city or town, programmatic impact on the sending school district, and the educational impact on the students in the district to ensure that the proposal is economically prudent for the proposed sending school district and for all students in the sending district.

Rhode Island law requires that the mayor from each city or town, or in the absence of a mayor the city or town council via a resolution or ordinance, shall approve the participation in a mayoral academy’s catchment area for a proposed charter or an amendment to a charter for expansion.

Under Rhode Island law, the decision by the authorizer to approve or deny an application along with its reasons and conditions are to be made in writing and available to both the applicant and the public at large.

Regulations detail charter contract requirements, including the creation of a final charter contract document which details various things including: the power to operate as a local education agency or as a public school within another local education agency; the obligations of the authorizer; and academic and operational performance expectations (including student academic goals, post-secondary readiness for high schools, organizational performance including financial issues, student and teacher attrition, and parent and student satisfaction).
Regulations state that charter contracts are granted for a fixed term not to exceed five years.

Rhode Island law and regulations require charter schools to provide a yearly report to parents, the community, the local school committee, and the state commissioner of education, which indicates the progress made by the charter school during the previous year in meeting the charter objectives.
Regulations give the state commissioner of education the responsibility and authority to conduct or require oversight activities.

Regulations provide that the state commissioner of education can institute charter revocation proceedings, during which the commissioner notifies the school in writing of the facts and issues that justify a revocation and offers the school a reasonable length of time to attain compliance. Regulations allow the commissioner to place schools on probation for a specified period of time in lieu of revocation.

Rhode Island law requires all charter schools to adhere to financial record keeping, reporting, auditing requirements, and procedures in the same manner as required of local public school districts and in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations.

Rhode Island law requires all charter schools to continuously monitor their financial operations by tracking actual versus budgeted revenue and expense.

Rhode Island law allows individuals or groups to complain to a charter school's governing body concerning any claimed violation of the provisions of the charter law by the school. If, after presenting their complaint to the governing body, the individuals or groups believe their complaint has not been adequately addressed, the law allows them to submit their complaint to the state commissioner of elementary and secondary education who must hear and decide the issue pursuant to state law.

Regulations provide that the state board of education may conduct a review of a school’s charter. They also note the data that should be considered, including evidence from a renewal application, by the state board of education for making decisions regarding renewal. While the regulations mention a “renewal application,” it is unclear if such applications are required of all charters as part of the renewal process.
State law provides that charter renewal contracts may be up to five years, although it does not provide detail on what should determine the length of the continuance. If the state board of education does not conduct a renewal hearing for an existing charter school, the charter shall be renewed for another five-year period.

Rhode Island law states that a charter may be revoked for material violations of those provisions contained within the charter, failing to meet education objectives, fiscal mismanagement, or violation of the law. The law also provides that a charter may be revoked if after three consecutive years of operation, the school is not a “high-performing charter school” that has demonstrated substantial progress improving student achievement and has the management and leadership necessary to establish a thriving, financially viable school.

After denying or prior to non-renewing a charter, state law requires the state department to hold a hearing on the issues in controversy. Regulations add further detail in that schools must be notified in writing about the concerns, given reasonable length of time to correct the concerns, and offered an administrative hearing in which the school has the burden of proof to demonstrate it has met the terms of the charter and other applicable legal requirements.

While the law requires the state to provide its reasons for non-renewals and revocations in writing, it does not require that these decisions be made in a public meeting.

Regulations require that in the event of a closed school, the state commissioner of education must coordinate student and record transitions (but nothing is mentioned about timely parent notification or property and asset disposition).

Rhode Island law allows charter boards to contract directly with third parties for the purchase of books, instructional materials, and any other goods and services which are not being provided by the sending school districts. Statute also requires that information be placed in charter applications regarding any support services the school plans to obtain directly from third parties and under what terms and conditions those services are to be provided, to the extent known. Rhode Island law prohibits charter schools from contracting with for-profit management organizations.
Regulations require the following within charter applications: evidence of the educational service provider’s success in serving students; terms of the service contract including the roles and responsibilities of the governing board, school staff, and the service provider; performance evaluation and enforcement measures; compensation structure and fees; methods of contract oversight; and conditions for renewal.

Regulations state that no charter school board can enter into a contract that would have the effect of reducing the board’s ultimate responsibility for the operation of the school.

State law provides that district charters (those approved by the local school board and the state board of education) are still bound to the district’s collective bargaining agreement unless the parties to the collective bargaining agreement approve variances requested by the school. Rhode Island law states that teachers and administrators in district and independent charter schools (those approved by the state commissioner of education and the state board of education) are entitled to prevailing wages and benefits as enjoyed by others in the district for district charter schools or others in the state for independent charter schools. Such schools must also pay into the state pension system and provide tenure. These provisions restrict the fiscal autonomy of a given school board. Mayoral academy charter schools are not subject to the above restrictions.
Rhode Island law provides that charter schools may negotiate and contract directly with third parties.

Rhode Island law requires all charter schools to have governing boards. It also requires mayoral academy charter schools to have a board of trustees or directors that is comprised of representatives from each city or town participating in the school and chaired by a mayor of an included city or town. It also subjects the governing boards of all charter schools to the open meetings law.

Rhode Island law provides that charter schools are open to any student in the state.
Rhode Island law requires charter schools to comply with the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Rhode Island law requires that the combined percentage of free or reduced lunch students, special education students and limited English proficiency students enrolled at a charter school must at least equal the combined percentage for the district as a whole.

Regulations indicate that schools are allowed to exempt siblings as well as students of teachers and school founders from participation in the lottery (as long as it is not more than 10% of enrollment).

Rhode Island law requires charter schools to conduct a lottery if the total number of students who are eligible to attend and apply to a charter school is greater than the number of spaces available.

Rhode Island law requires exemptions from particular state statutes, state regulations, school district rules, and collective bargaining provisions to be requested within the charter application.
Rhode Island law requires charter school teachers to be certified.

Collective bargaining is required for non-charter public school teachers in Rhode Island and it must cover wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. Extracurricular duties and management rights are expressly excluded from bargaining.Rhode Island law exempts independent charter schools and mayoral academy charter schools from district collective bargaining agreements, although they must identify the sending school district’s rules from which they are seeking variances within the application. The law also provides that district charter schools are bound by the district collective bargaining agreement, unless the parties to the collective bargaining agreement approve variances requested by the school.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, Rhode Island allowed mandatory agency fees. The Supreme Court decision renders that state law unconstitutional. In May 2018, a new state statute was enacted in response to authorize municipal police unions to refrain from representing employees in grievance and arbitration proceedings if those employees were not members of the collective bargaining unit within 90 days of the event precipitating the grievance and arbitration proceedings. This statute does not affect the rights of teachers but may be indicative of the direction of future legislation.
In Rhode Island, employers may directly certify an exclusive representative. If there is a question of representation, the Labor Relations Board shall investigate and hold a hearing, and may conduct an election by secret ballot or other appropriate method to determine the representative. The Labor Relations Board determines eligibility to vote and rules of the election, and no employees hired for a strike or lockout only will be eligible to vote. Elections may not be called solely at the will of the employer, and no elections can be held under the employer’s supervision. Certifications are valid for one year.

Rhode Island law is silent regarding these arrangements.

Rhode Island law is silent regarding charter eligibility and access.

Rhode Island law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions for equitable operational and categorical funding. Rhode Island law provides some general provisions regarding federal funding for special education students in charter schools.

The state law includes some of the model law’s provisions for equitable operational and categorical funding, but there is no evidence of the amount of funds charters receive versus districts.
State law generally provides that funding for each charter school shall consist of state revenue and municipal or district revenue in the same proportions that funding is provided for other schools within the sending school districts. It also provides that funding additional to that authorized from the sending school districts may be allocated to the charter school from the sending school districts to the extent that the combined percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch, students with limited English proficiency, and students requiring special education exceed the combined percentage of those students in the sending school districts as a whole.

Rhode Island law provides that a school district may access aid for reimbursement of school housing costs for school district sponsored charter schools, and that charter schools not sponsored by a school district may apply for 30% reimbursement of school housing cost on a need basis.State law provides that charter schools can access bonding support through the Rhode Island Housing and Education Building Corporation.

Rhode Island law requires all charter schools to participate in the relevant employee retirement systems, except for mayoral academy charter schools, which have the option to participate.

Rhode Island law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.