Bill > H7900

This bill mandates that any public school within a district that has unfilled seats after initially enrolling students from its designated attendance area must make those open seats available to any other student living within that same school district. The bill emphasizes that this is a matter of fairness and efficiency, ensuring that every publicly funded school seat is utilized before a district considers expanding its resources. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will be responsible for creating regulations within a year to manage this process, including how open seats are identified, advertised, and assigned, potentially using lotteries if more students apply than there are seats. While districts can offer priority to siblings, students needing special programs, or those living closest to the school, these priorities must be applied consistently and transparently, and no student can be excluded based on race, ethnicity, language, disability, or socioeconomic status. Districts will also be required to report data on open seats and placements to RIDE annually, which RIDE will then make public.

Education

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