The bill introduced to the General Assembly, known as the Multilingual Educators Investment Act, aims to bridge the demographic gap between teachers and students in Rhode Island by increasing the number of certified multilingual educators. It highlights the benefits multilingual students gain from teachers with dual language instruction certification and proposes financial support for the preparation and training of such educators at Rhode Island college and the University of Rhode Island. The bill seeks to establish a scholarship program with an annual appropriation of $2,000,000 starting in fiscal year 2024, to support residents seeking graduate certificates or degrees in this field, with a focus on increasing the number of multilingual educators in urban core and urban ring public schools.

The scholarship program, set to begin on July 1, 2023, will be managed by the financial aid offices of the aforementioned institutions and will target state residents who meet specific eligibility criteria. The bill defines key terms such as "multilingual educator," "multilingual learner," and "scholarship program," and identifies the geographic areas of "urban core" and "urban ring." Additionally, it tasks the office of the postsecondary commissioner with collaborating with the department of elementary and secondary education to prioritize and enhance certification programs for bilingual dual language and world language teachers. The bill does not mention any specific insertions or deletions to current law.