Rhode Island School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions

Discipline Compendium

Rhode Island School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions

Category: Monitoring and Accountability
Subcategory: Data Collection, Review, and Reporting of Discipline Policies and Actions
State: Rhode Island

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LAWS

16-7.1-5.1. Intervention and support for the Providence public school district.

(A)  No later than September 1, 2022, and in order to assess the providence school district across multiple measures of district performance and student success, the commissioner shall update the turnaround action plan released June 23, 2020, (the "turnaround plan") , to include measurable annual goals including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Student attendance and suspension rates;

(2) Student safety and discipline;

(3) Student promotion, graduation, and dropout rates;

16-2-17. Right to a safe school.

(d) All school superintendents, or their designees, shall review annually, the discipline data for their school district, collected in accordance with the specifications set forth in § 16-60-4(21), to determine whether the discipline imposed has a disproportionate impact on students based on race, ethnicity, or disability status and to appropriately respond to any such disparity. In addition to the data submitted, if a disparity exists, the school district shall submit a report to the council on elementary and secondary education describing the conduct of the student, the frequency of the conduct, prior disciplinary actions for the conduct, any other relevant information and corrective actions to address the disparity, after consultation with representatives of the faculty has been taken to address the disparity. The reports shall be deemed to be public records for purposes of title 38.

e) On or before September 1, 2023, and annually by September 1 thereafter, the Rhode Island Department of Education, in coordination with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, shall, for each school district, annually collect, report, and publish on its website, data on: the number of school resource officers; the use of force against students, including, but not limited to, the number of instances force was used and the type of the force used; arrests of students and reasons for arrest; student referrals[A1]  to law enforcement and reasons for referral; student referrals to court or court service units; and the number and type of any other disciplinary actions taken or recommended by school resource officers involving students. All data shall be published in a manner that protects the identities of students and shall be collected and designated by student age, grade, race, ethnicity, gender, language status, and disability, to the extent that the demographic data is available.

16-19-1. Attendance required.

(a) Every child who has completed, or will have completed, six (6) years of life on or before September 1 of any school year, or is enrolled in kindergarten, and has not completed eighteen (18) years of life, shall regularly attend some public day school during all the days and hours that the public schools are in session in the city or town in which the child resides. The public school shall be responsible for regular attendance data monitoring of all students and early identification of emergent truant behavior. Prior to referring truant students to family court, schools must do their due diligence to assure all interventions have taken place. This includes, and is not limited to:

(1) Consultation with the parent or guardian; and

(2) Coordination with the student's school-identified support team such as the individualized education plan, behavioral support, or attendance teams.

16-60-4. Council for elementary and secondary education–Powers and duties.

(a) The council on elementary and secondary education shall have in addition to those enumerated in § 16-60-1, the following powers and duties:

(21)(i) To prepare, with the assistance of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, and to present annually to the general assembly by January 1 a report on school discipline in Rhode Island schools. This report shall include:

(A) Expulsions by district, including duration and the reason for each action;

(B) Suspensions by district, including duration and the reason for each action;

(C) Placements to alternative programs for disciplinary reasons;

(D) Assaults of teachers, students, and school staff by students;

(E) Incidents involving possession of weapons on school property. For the purpose of this section, a weapon shall be considered any of those weapons described in §§ 11-47-2 and 11-47-42;

(F) Incidents of the sale of controlled substances by students;

(G) Incidents of the possession with the intent to sell controlled substances by students;

(H) Additional demographic information including, but not limited to, the ethnic and racial classifications, age, and gender, as prescribed by the commissioner, of each of the students involved in the incidents, events or actions described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of this subdivision; and

(I) A description of the education program provided to each student suspended for over ten (10) consecutive school days in a school year.

(ii) All school superintendents shall supply the necessary information on forms established by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education to the council on elementary and secondary education to assist in the preparation of the council's report on school discipline.

(22) To prepare and promulgate a uniform statewide school reporting system which would provide information including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Student and teacher attendance rates;

(ii) Standardized test scores;

(iii) Demographic profiles;

(iv) Results of polls of students, parents, and teachers;

(v) Descriptions of goals, initiatives, and achievements;

(vi) Best teaching practices;

(vii) Alternative student assessments;

(viii) Special programs; and

(ix) Number of student suspensions and teacher grievances and the amount of parental involvement.

REGULATIONS

200-RICR-20-30-2 Section 2.7. Reporting requirements.

D. Report to the R.I. Department of Education. Each public educational program shall provide the R.I. Department of Education a record of every incident of the use of a physical restraint/crisis intervention on an annual basis.

200-RICR-30-10-2 Section 2.4. Policy oversight and responsibility.

B. The school principal, director, or head of school shall provide the superintendent, school committee and/or school governing board with a summary report of incidents, responses, and any other bullying-related issues at least twice annually.

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U.S. Department of Education

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