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S 2821Funding & Budget

Education - The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act

This bill mandates reports on using Medicaid data to calculate school funding and reviews if current poverty funding rates are sufficient.

Held for study
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the "Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act" to refine how the state calculates education funding. It directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to study and report on using Medicaid data, in addition to SNAP data, to better identify low-income students eligible for extra funding. It also mandates a review of high-cost special education data validity. Furthermore, the bill requires the state to evaluate if the current 40% extra funding weight for students in poverty is sufficient to meet their educational needs, with findings due by October 2026.

For younger readers

This bill is about making sure schools get the right amount of money to help students learn. The government gives extra money to schools for students who might need more help because their families don't have a lot of money. This bill tells the people in charge of schools to use new lists, like health insurance records, to make sure they are counting every student who needs help. It also asks them to check if the extra money they are giving is actually enough to help those students do well in class.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Public school studentsLow-income familiesSchool administratorsSpecial education studentsTaxpayers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Mandates the exploration of using Medicaid data to identify low-income students, which will likely capture more eligible children than SNAP alone, ensuring schools receive appropriate funding for disadvantaged populations.
  • Requires a review of the "student success factor" funding weight to see if the current amount is sufficient, opening the door for increased financial support for students from low-income families.
  • Seeks to improve the accuracy of high-cost special education data, ensuring that the most vulnerable students with significant needs receive the specific resources required for their education.
  • Delays immediate action on underfunding by requiring studies and reports that extend into late 2026 rather than allocating necessary resources now.
  • Does not guarantee an increase in the student success factor funding weight; it only mandates a review, which could result in a recommendation to keep funding stagnant despite inflation and rising needs.
  • Relies on administrative data matching processes that can still be prone to bureaucratic errors, potentially leaving some marginalized students uncounted and their schools underfunded.
For Conservatives
  • Promotes fiscal responsibility by requiring rigorous validation of high-cost special education data to ensure tax dollars are being spent legitimately and accurately.
  • Focuses on data accuracy by cross-referencing Medicaid and SNAP records, ensuring that state aid is distributed based on verified metrics rather than estimates or outdated information.
  • Does not immediately increase government spending or taxes, but rather mandates a study to determine if current funding levels are appropriate before making changes.
  • Lays the groundwork for likely future increases in state education spending by seeking to identify more students as "high-need" through Medicaid expansion data.
  • Creates additional bureaucratic milestones and reporting requirements for state agencies, potentially diverting resources from actual instruction to administrative overhead.
  • Opens the door to increasing the "student success factor" funding weight, which would result in a permanent increase in the size of the education budget and the burden on taxpayers.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 6 additions

SECTION 1. Section 16-7.2-3 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: 16-7.2-3. Permanent foundation education aid established.

(a) Beginning in the 2012 fiscal year, the following foundation education-aid formula shall take effect. The foundation education aid for each district shall be the sum of the core instruction amount in subsection (a)(1) of this section and the amount to support high-need students in subsection (a)(2) of this section, which shall be multiplied by the district state-share ratio calculated pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 to determine the foundation aid.

(1) The core instruction amount shall be an amount equal to a statewide, per-pupil core instruction amount as established by the department of elementary and secondary education, derived from the average of northeast regional expenditure data for the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire from the National Center for Education Statistics

(NCES) that will adequately fund the student instructional needs as described in the basic education program and multiplied by the district average daily membership as defined in § 16-7-22. Expenditure data in the following categories: instruction and support services for students, instruction, general administration, school administration, and other support services from the National Public Education Financial Survey, as published by NCES, and enrollment data from the Common Core of Data, also published by NCES, will be used when determining the core instruction amount. The core instruction amount will be updated annually. For the purpose of calculating this formula, school districts’ resident average daily membership shall exclude charter school and state-operated school students.

(2) The amount to support high-need students beyond the core instruction amount shall be determined by:

(i) Multiplying a student success factor of forty percent (40%) by the core instruction per- pupil amount described in subsection (a)(1) of this section and applying that amount for each resident child whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines, hereinafter referred to as “poverty status.” By October 1, 2022, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to state fiscal year 2024 and thereafter, the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop and utilize a poverty measure that in the department’s assessment most accurately serves as a proxy for the poverty status referenced in this subsection and does not rely on the administration of school nutrition programs. The department shall utilize this measure in calculations pursuant to this subsection related to the application of the student success factor, in calculations pursuant to § 16-7.2-4 related to the calculation of the state share ratio, and in the formulation of estimates pursuant to subsection (b) below. The department may also include any recommendations which seek to mitigate any disruptions associated with the implementation of this new poverty measure or improve the accuracy of its calculation. Beginning with the FY 2024 calculation, students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines will be determined by participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). The number of students directly certified through the department of human services shall be multiplied by a factor of 1.6; and

(ii) Multiplying a multilingual learner (MLL) factor of twenty percent (20%) by the core instruction per-pupil amount described in subsection (a)(1) of this section, applying that amount for each resident child identified in the three lowest proficiency categories using widely adopted, independent standards and assessments in accordance with subsection (f)(1) of this section and as identified by the commissioner and defined by regulations of the council on elementary and secondary education. Local education agencies shall report annually to the department of elementary and secondary education by September 1, outlining the planned and prior year use of all funding pursuant to this subsection to provide services to MLL students in accordance with requirements set forth by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The department shall review the use of funds to ensure consistency with established best practices.

(b) The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide an estimate of the foundation education aid cost as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4. The estimate shall include the most recent data available as well as an adjustment for average daily membership growth or decline based on the prior year experience.

(c) In addition, the department shall report updated figures based on the average daily membership as of October 1 by December 1.

(d) Local education agencies may set aside a portion of funds received under subsection

(a) to expand learning opportunities such as after school and summer programs, full-day kindergarten and/or multiple pathway programs, provided that the basic education program and all other approved programs required in law are funded.

(e) The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement fully the purposes of this chapter. (f)(1) By October 1, 2023, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to state fiscal year 2025, the department of elementary and secondary education shall evaluate the number of students by district who qualify as multilingual learner (MLL) students and MLL students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines. The submission shall also include segmentation of these populations by levels as dictated by the WIDA multilingual learner assessment tool used as an objective benchmark for English proficiency. The department shall also prepare and produce expense data sourced from the uniform chart of accounts to recommend funding levels required to support students at the various levels of proficiency as determined by the WIDA assessment tool. Utilizing this information, the department shall recommend a funding solution to meet the needs of multilingual learners; this may include but not be limited to inclusion of MLL needs within the core foundation formula amount through one or multiple weights to distinguish different students of need or through categorical means.

(2) By October 1, 2024, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to state fiscal year 2026, the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop alternatives to identify students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines through participation in state-administered programs, including, but not limited to, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), and RIteCare and other programs that include the collection of required supporting documentation. The department may also include any recommendations that seek to mitigate any disruptions associated with implementation of this new poverty measure or improve the accuracy of its calculation.

(3) The department shall also report with its annual budget request information regarding local contributions to education aid and compliance with §§ 16-7-23 and 16-7-24. The report shall also compare these local contributions to state foundation education aid by community. The department shall also report compliance to each city or town school committee and city or town council.

(4) By October 1, 2025, as part of its budget submission pursuant to § 35-3-4 relative to state fiscal year 2027, the department of elementary and secondary education shall submit a report developed in coordination with the department of administration and the Rhode Island longitudinal data system within the office of the postsecondary commissioner. The report shall provide an overview of the process for matching the department of human services program participation data to the department of elementary and secondary education student enrollment records for use in the education funding formula and recommend methods to ensure consistency and accuracy in future matching processes.

(5) As part of its FY 2027 budget submission, the department shall also submit an estimate of foundation education aid that uses expanded direct certification with Medicaid matching in consultation with the Rhode Island longitudinal data system and the executive office of health and human services to identify students whose family income is at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines, in addition to an estimate under the current law poverty determination.

(6) By December 31, 2025, the department of elementary and secondary education shall also develop and submit a report to the governor, speaker of the house, and senate president on current and recommended processes to ensure the consistency and validity of submitted high-cost special education data from local education agencies.

(g) The department shall review the student success factor of forty percent (40%) provided in subsection (a)(2) of this section to determine whether that weight ensures local education agencies receive the funding necessary to meet students' instructional needs. The department shall complete its review and report its findings to the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house by October 1, 2026.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.