State House Roundup: What’s Happening on Smith Hill?
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Since combing through hundreds of State House proposals is a time consuming and tedious endeavor, GoLocal has decided to do the work for you. As part of our new weekly series “State House Roundup: This Week on Smith Hill,” GoLocal will examine a week’s worth of policy proposals in order to present those which are most relevant to you.
Although the House and Senate were in recess this week, there were a number of noteworthy bills proposed last week (180 in total). This week GoLocal looks at five Senate proposals in regard to education and developmental disability/human services funding. In particular, two bills look to continue Rhode Island’s upward trend in education, which has seen the Ocean State climb from 31st to 20th on the Quality Counts report in one year, while another aims to reform tenure laws for teachers. Aside from education, there was also a pair of proposals introduced designed to help make up for last year's $24 million in cuts made to developmental disability services.
Senate Bill No. 2534 - Expansion of Full-Day Kindergarten
Last week, Sen. Hannah M. Gallo D-Cranston introduced Senate Bill No. 2534, which looks to expand access to full-day kindergarten throughout Rhode Island. Although 19 school districts in the state currently offer full-day kindergarten programs, 17 do not. Not a mandate, the bill gives school districts that lack full-day kindergarten the opportunity to develop one. Currently, rural communities like Coventry, Foster, Portsmouth and Situate do not offer full-day kindergarten, as well as some urban cities and towns like Warwick, Cumberland and Cranston.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSo what kinds of results are associated with full-day kindergarten compared to half-day programs? Sen. Gallo argues, “All studies, all statistics show that children benefit academically from participating in full-day kindergarten.” Sen. Gallo also contends that full-day kindergarten allows for a smoother transition into grade school, because teachers can more appropriately instill necessary cognitive skills in young students.
Senate Bill No. 2356- Increased Access to Advanced Placement Courses
Keeping with the educational theme, Senators Hannah M. Gallo (D), Daniel DaPonte (D), Beatrice A. Lanzi (D), Louis P. DiPalma (D) and Frank A. DeVall, Jr. (D) introduced an act that would amend Title 16 (Education) by adding a new chapter 93 intended to enhance access to advanced placement courses for all Rhode Island students. In addition to increasing the availability of advanced placement classes for students, the proposal would also boost funding for teacher training programs. The bill centers on AP courses in math, social studies, science and English, which are the four core academic areas according to the Rhode Island Department of Education.
Though AP course availability is seemingly beneficial, a four-year Harvard University study conducted from 2005-2009 concluded “while the curriculum and rigor required of student in AP courses is worthy, success in AP science and math courses cannot predict a student’s success once in college.” As for RI, a total of 9,716 high school students took an AP exam in 2011, with 12 percent scoring a 3 or above. The 12 percent average placed Rhode Island 36th nationally and was well below the 18 percent average score.
Senate Bill No. 2424 - Teacher’s Tenure
Introduced by Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III (D), this proposal would amend the situations in which a school board can layoff teachers. Such teachers would be suspended as deemed necessary in relation to student population. For example, a teacher is more likely to be laid off if he or she is working in a school with a declining pupil population.
Although suspension notices were originally set to go out on March 1, Sen. Ciccone's proposal has increased the deadline to May 15. Sen. Ciccone told GoLocal that the new deadline “gives each side ample time to determine whether layoffs are necessary and reduce the number of layoff notices that are by the present deadline.”
Last February, the Providence Public School Department sent out dismissal notices to all of its 1,926 teachers, cautioning them they could lose their jobs by year’s end. The unprecedented measure was taken due to Providence’s $40 million projected school budget deficit. It is worth noting that Rhode Island currently ranks in the top 10 in highest teacher salaries nationwide with a 2010/2011 average salary of $60,923.
Senate Resolution No. 2466 - Money For Developmental Disability
Introduced on Feb. 16 by Senators James E. Doyle (D), John J. Tassoni (D), Hannah M. Gallo (D), this resolution appropriates the sum of $15 million for the services of the developmentally disabled. The amount, which is already paid for, will be taken from treasury funds that have not otherwise been appropriated.
The allocation would give much relief to agencies providing services to the developmentally disabled, which experienced $24 million in cuts last year by the General Assembly. Consequently, these cuts have lead to layoffs, decreased wages for some employees and cuts to benefits in some cases.
While $15 million is a hefty sum for most, developmental disability agencies want to recoup the entire amount they were forced to cut. Just last Tuesday, more than 100 members of the Have a Heart Coalition took to the State House urging lawmakers to reverse the $24 million in cuts. Relatives and caregivers alike filled the capitol rotunda calling on the state to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to raise money for program funding.
Senate Bill No. 2446 - Transition Councils
This bill, proposed by Senators Gallo, DeVall, Lanzi and DiPalma aims to establish a transition council for developmentally disabled students within the department of elementary and secondary education. Transition councils offer an array of services to developmentally disabled students in order to ease their progression into adult life. Not limited to one area, transitional planning includes post-school activities, vocational training, integrated employment, adult education, adult services and independent living.
Although transition planning presently initiates when a student turns 16 years old, the current legislation intends to lower the age requirement to 14 years old. In addition to providing services to students, the proposal would also benefit developmentally disabled adults by providing them with community-based services.
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