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H 8362Curriculum and Standards

Education - Curriculum - Foster Care Youth Academic Reports

This bill requires schools to report more data on foster students and create plans to address academic or disciplinary disparities.

Introduced63 Yea0 Nay12 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 27, 2026Committee House Education

Plain-English Summary

This bill updates the law regarding annual educational reports for students in foster care. It requires school superintendents to include more specific information in their reports, such as the number of foster students receiving 504 accommodations, special education services, and those on track to graduate in four years. If the data shows foster students are failing or being disciplined at higher rates than the overall student body, the school district must create a remediation plan to address these issues. The district must submit this plan to the state education department and provide progress reports in March and June.

For younger readers

This bill changes the rules for schools when they report on how students in foster care are doing. Foster care is when children live with another family for a while instead of their parents. The bill says school leaders must report extra details, like how many foster students get special help for learning or are on track to graduate. If foster students are getting worse grades or getting in trouble more than other kids, the school has to make a plan to fix the problem and send updates to the state education department to show they are helping.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Foster care youthSchool superintendentsPublic school districtsStudents with disabilitiesState education and child welfare agencies
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. The bill regulates administrative reporting and educational planning requirements for public school districts regarding students in state care. It does not infringe upon free speech, due process, or protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Mandates targeted remediation plans for foster youth if they are disproportionately failing or facing discipline, addressing systemic inequalities for a highly vulnerable population.
  • Expands data collection to include 504 accommodations and special education eligibility, ensuring students with disabilities in the foster system are properly tracked and supported.
  • Increases transparency and oversight by requiring progress reports to be shared with multiple child welfare and government agencies, fostering a stronger social safety net.
  • Does not provide additional state funding or resources to school districts to implement these new tracking, reporting, and remediation requirements, potentially straining already underfunded public schools.
  • Focuses heavily on data collection and reporting rather than directly mandating specific supportive services or interventions for foster youth that address root causes of trauma and poverty.
  • Relies on the same school systems that allowed the disparities to occur to create and implement the remediation solutions, which may not lead to meaningful systemic reform without outside community input.
For Conservatives
  • Increases accountability for public school superintendents by requiring them to track and report specific performance metrics for foster youth, ensuring tax dollars are being monitored.
  • Mandates strict timelines for submitting remediation plans and progress reports, creating a bureaucratic mechanism to force schools to address failing metrics quickly.
  • Identifies when students are disproportionately failing or requiring special accommodations, which could highlight systemic inefficiencies within the public education system.
  • Imposes additional unfunded bureaucratic reporting mandates and administrative burdens on local school districts, expanding government red tape.
  • Creates a new framework for evaluating "disproportionately failing" metrics that focuses on equitable outcomes rather than equal opportunity, aligning with diversity, equity, and inclusion frameworks that conservatives often oppose.
  • Involves multiple state agencies in local school affairs, including the Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Family Court, eroding local control over education.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 52 additions · 3 deletions

SECTION 1. Chapter 16-22 of the General Laws entitled "Curriculum [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — the Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 16-22-1.1. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter:

(1) “504 accommodations” refers to supports and adjustments provided to a kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) student with a disability under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., so the student can access school on an equal basis with peers.

(2) “Alternative” means tailored instruction and support for students who cannot have their needs met in a traditional setting.

(3) “Disproportionally failing” means students in foster care are experiencing academic failure, restrictive placements, or exclusionary discipline at significantly higher rates than their representation in the overall student population.

(4) “Expelled” means long-term or permanent removal from their school for serious misconduct.

(5) “Foster care” means twenty-four (24) hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians including, but not limited to, placements in licensed foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and pre-adoptive homes.

(6) “Special education services” means services provided pursuant to § 16-24-1. Special education services means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities ages three through twenty-two (3–22), including classroom instruction, physical education, and related services.

(7) “Suspension from school” means a disciplinary action where a student is temporarily removed from their regular classes and/or school environment because of a violation of school rules or policies. Many systems distinguish between in‑school suspension (student stays at school in a supervised, separate setting) and out‑of‑school suspension (student is sent home and excluded from school grounds).

SECTION 2. Section 16-22-9.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-22 entitled "Curriculum [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — the Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended to read as follows: 16-22-9.1. Foster care youth academic reports.

(a) Every superintendent of schools employed in accordance with the provisions of chapter 2 of this title shall on or before September 15, 2022, and annually thereafter on or before September 15, complete a report on the progress and status of educational achievement and development of all foster care youth attending every public school under the superintendent’s care and supervision. The report shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) The total number of foster care youth identified by school and grade of instruction;

(2) The number of foster care youth receiving supplementary literacy instruction pursuant to the provisions of § 16-67-2;

(3) The foster care youth uniform testing scores for testing pursuant to the provisions of § 16-22-9, and the percentage of foster care youth who meet or exceed the mean average score for uniform testing;

(4) The percentage of foster care youth meeting academic standards;

(5) The number and percentage of foster care youth receiving alternative or special education services;

(6) The number of foster care youth suspended or expelled from school during the academic year and a breakdown by infraction type;

(7) The number of foster care youth identified as involved in chronic absenteeism, truancy, or as drop-outs; and

(8) The number of foster care youth assigned to advanced placement.;

(9) The number and percentage of foster care youth receiving 504 accommodations;

(10) The number of foster care youth who were evaluated and/or determined special education or 504 eligible;

(11) The number of foster care youth in each school who have an appointed surrogate parent pursuant to the provisions of § 33-15.1-2; and

(12) The percentage of foster care youth who are on track to graduate in four (4) years, based on credit attainment.

(b) If the superintendent determines based on the information provided in the report prepared pursuant to subsection (a) of this section that foster care youth are disproportionately failing to meet academic standards or are disproportionately subject to school discipline compared to the overall student population, then the superintendent shall develop a remediation plan and include the remediation plan to address identified gaps and improve outcomes for students in foster care as part of the report promulgated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The school department shall develop a remediation plan and submit to RIDE within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the superintendent's determination made pursuant to subsection

(a) of this section. Remediation plans for each district shall be reviewed and approved by RIDE within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date the plan is received.

(d) Any district required to submit a remediation plan shall submit a progress report in March and in June to report on corrective action taken and a resubmission of all data outlined in subsection (a) of this section. These progress reports shall be submitted to all parties outlined in subsection (f) of this section.

(e) Should the progress reports illustrate a lack of improvement in outcomes, the report shall identify what alternatives should be considered to improve performance. (c)(f) Every superintendent shall provide a copy of the reports promulgated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and the applicable school committee, the office of the governor, the senate president, the speaker of the house, the director of department of children, youth & families, the Rhode Island family court, and the office of the child advocate.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.