The bill amends the General Laws regarding charter schools in Rhode Island by introducing provisions for nontraditional approaches to learning. It allows charter schools to offer nontraditional methods differing from traditional education, specifically requiring that each charter school provide progressive, student-centric, and task-based approaches to learning, rather than focusing on memorization. The Rhode Island Department of Education is tasked with reviewing applications for charter schools that wish to adopt these nontraditional methods to ensure they meet sufficient educational standards.

Additionally, if a charter school’s charter is not renewed, its previously allocated seats will be reallocated to a school that is authorized to offer nontraditional approaches to learning.

The bill also permits local communities to adopt an all-charter public school model as an alternative to traditional public schools. This process allows for the establishment of new charter public schools, the conversion of traditional public schools to charter public schools, or a combination of both. A municipality seeking to convert to an all-charter public school model must submit a detailed plan for the provision of education under this model, which must be approved by both the local governing body and the school committee. Following this approval, the plan will be presented to voters in a referendum, and if approved, the municipality can implement the all-charter model. The act is set to take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
5337: 16-77-3.1