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S 2548Special Education

Education - The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act

This bill lowers the cost threshold for schools to receive state funding for expensive special education services, starting in 2028.

Held for study
Population
Affected
25
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 13, 2026Committee Senate Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the "Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" to change how the state reimburses school districts for high-cost special education students. Currently, the state provides extra funding when a student's costs exceed four times the core per-pupil amount. This bill gradually lowers that threshold to 3.5 times in fiscal year 2028 and 3 times in fiscal year 2029. Additionally, it removes the state's ability to reduce (prorate) these payments if funds are insufficient, mandating that the state fully fund these approved extraordinary costs, including for students who move into a district mid-year.

For younger readers

Schools have to spend money to teach every student, but some students need extra help that costs a lot more. Right now, the state government only gives schools extra money for a student if the cost is very high—four times the normal amount. This new law says that starting in a few years, the state will help out sooner, when the cost is three times the normal amount. It also promises that the state will pay the full amount it owes schools for these students, instead of paying less if the state runs out of money.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Special education studentsPublic school districtsProperty taxpayersSchool administratorsParents of children with disabilities
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Guarantees full funding for extraordinary special education costs by removing the state's ability to prorate payments, ensuring that the most vulnerable students receive necessary services without destabilizing school budgets.
  • Increases state financial responsibility for public education by lowering the threshold for reimbursement, which helps address systemic underfunding in local school districts.
  • Promotes equity by providing additional resources to districts based on student need rather than the local tax base's ability to pay for high-cost services.
  • Delays the implementation of the lowered cost thresholds until fiscal years 2028 and 2029, leaving school districts to struggle with current high costs for several more years.
  • Fails to address the broader structural issues of the education funding formula, focusing only on the most expensive cases rather than increasing the core foundation amount for all students.
  • Does not explicitly mandate that the relieved funds at the local level be reinvested into other educational equity programs or social services within the district.
For Conservatives
  • Provides significant property tax relief to local homeowners by shifting the heavy financial burden of high-cost special education from municipal budgets to the state level.
  • Enforces fiscal discipline and adherence to contracts by mandating the state pay exactly what is approved, rather than allowing bureaucrats to prorate payments arbitrarily.
  • Increases budget predictability for towns and cities, allowing for more accurate long-term fiscal planning and potentially preventing local tax hikes.
  • Increases state government spending significantly by lowering the threshold for aid, which will likely lead to calls for higher state taxes to cover the expanded obligations.
  • Removes a mechanism (proration) that allowed the state to stay within its budget, potentially forcing the state into deficit spending if costs exceed estimates.
  • Further centralizes education funding at the state level, reducing local autonomy and effectively socializing the costs of specific district decisions across all state taxpayers.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 12 additions · 7 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7.2 entitled "The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 16-7.2-6. Categorical programs, state funded expenses. In addition to the foundation education aid provided pursuant to § 16-7.2-3, the permanent foundation education-aid program shall provide direct state funding for:

(a) Excess costs associated with special education students. Excess costs are defined when an individual special education student’s cost shall be deemed to be “extraordinary.” Extraordinary costs are those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above four times the core foundation amount (total of core instruction amount plus student success amount).; provided, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2028 are educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above three and one-half times (3 ½) the core foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success amount); and provided further, that extraordinary costs in fiscal year 2029 are educational costs that exceed the state- approved threshold based on an amount above three (3) times the core foundation amount (total of core-instruction amount plus student success amount). The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the appropriate funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year and shall also appropriate funds in the following fiscal year for approved excess costs associated with special education students who move into a district after a district has approved its district fiscal year budget; and the department of elementary and secondary education shall also collect data on those educational costs that exceed the state-approved threshold based on an amount above two (2), three (3), and five (5) times the core foundation amount;

(b) Career and technical education costs to help meet initial investment requirements needed to transform existing, or create new, comprehensive, career and technical education programs and career pathways in critical and emerging industries and to help offset the higher- than-average costs associated with facilities, equipment maintenance and repair, and supplies necessary for maintaining the quality of highly specialized programs that are a priority for the state. The department shall develop criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all career and technical education funds as may be determined by the general assembly on an annual basis. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

(c) Programs to increase access to voluntary, free, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all early childhood program funds as may be determined by the general assembly;

(d) Central Falls, Davies, and the Met Center Stabilization Fund is established to ensure that appropriate funding is available to support their students. Additional support for Central Falls is needed due to concerns regarding the city’s capacity to meet the local share of education costs. This fund requires that education aid calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-3 and funding for costs outside the permanent foundation education-aid formula, including, but not limited to, transportation, facility maintenance, and retiree health benefits shall be shared between the state and the city of Central Falls. The fund shall be annually reviewed to determine the amount of the state and city appropriation. The state’s share of this fund may be supported through a reallocation of current state appropriations to the Central Falls school district. At the end of the transition period defined in § 16-7.2-7, the municipality will continue its contribution pursuant to § 16-7-24. Additional support for the Davies and the Met Center is needed due to the costs associated with running a stand-alone high school offering both academic and career and technical coursework. The department shall recommend criteria for the purpose of allocating any and all stabilization funds as may be determined by the general assembly;

(e) Excess costs associated with transporting students to out-of-district non-public schools. This fund will provide state funding for the costs associated with transporting students to out-of- district non-public schools, pursuant to chapter 21.1 of this title. The state will assume the costs of non-public out-of-district transportation for those districts participating in the statewide system. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

(f) Excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts. This fund will provide direct state funding for the excess costs associated with transporting students within regional school districts, established pursuant to chapter 3 of this title. This fund requires that the state and regional school district share equally the student transportation costs net any federal sources of revenue for these expenditures. The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible school districts if the total approved costs for which school districts are seeking reimbursement exceed the amount of funding available in any fiscal year;

(g) Public school districts that are regionalized shall be eligible for a regionalization bonus as set forth below:

(1) As used herein, the term “regionalized” shall be deemed to refer to a regional school district established under the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional School district;

(2) For those districts that are regionalized as of July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus shall commence in FY 2012. For those districts that regionalize after July 1, 2010, the regionalization bonus shall commence in the first fiscal year following the establishment of a regionalized school district as set forth in chapter 3 of this title, including the Chariho Regional School District;

(3) The regionalization bonus in the first fiscal year shall be two percent (2.0%) of the state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to §§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year;

(4) The regionalization bonus in the second fiscal year shall be one percent (1.0%) of the state’s share of the foundation education aid for the regionalized district as calculated pursuant to §§ 16-7.2-3 and 16-7.2-4 in that fiscal year;

(5) The regionalization bonus shall cease in the third fiscal year;

(6) The regionalization bonus for the Chariho regional school district shall be applied to the state share of the permanent foundation education aid for the member towns; and

(7) The department of elementary and secondary education shall prorate the funds available for distribution among those eligible regionalized school districts if the total, approved costs for which regionalized school districts are seeking a regionalization bonus exceed the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year;

(h) [Deleted by P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 8, § 1.]

(i) State support for school resource officers. For purposes of this subsection, a school resource officer (SRO) shall be defined as a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. School resource officers should have completed at least forty (40) hours of specialized training in school policing, administered by an accredited agency, before being assigned. Beginning in FY 2019, for a period of three (3) years, school districts or municipalities that choose to employ school resource officers shall receive direct state support for costs associated with employing such officers at public middle and high schools. Districts or municipalities shall be reimbursed an amount equal to one-half (½) of the cost of salaries and benefits for the qualifying positions. Funding will be provided for school resource officer positions established on or after July 1, 2018, provided that:

(1) Each school resource officer shall be assigned to one school:

(i) Schools with enrollments below one thousand two hundred (1,200) students shall require one school resource officer;

(ii) Schools with enrollments of one thousand two hundred (1,200) or more students shall require two school resource officers;

(2) School resource officers hired in excess of the requirement noted above shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and

(3) Schools that eliminate existing school resource officer positions and create new positions under this provision shall not be eligible for reimbursement; and

(j) Categorical programs defined in subsections (a) through (g) shall be funded pursuant to the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.