Rhode Island § 16-87-4 - Rhode Island Prekindergarten Education Act

§ 16-87-4. Early childhood workforce development.

(a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall work with other state departments and private philanthropy to establish a statewide, comprehensive, research-based early childhood workforce development scholarship program to expand the number of early childhood educators who have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and who work with children from birth to age five (5).

(b)(1) In furtherance of the goals set forth in this chapter, no later than January 1, 2023, the governor’s workforce board shall convene a working group comprised of representatives from the department of elementary and secondary education, department of human services, office of the postsecondary commissioner, the RI early learning council, organized labor, and early childhood education industry employers, whose purpose shall be to identify barriers to entry into the early childhood education workforce, and to design accessible and accelerated pathways into the workforce, including, but not limited to, registered apprenticeships and postsecondary credit for prior work experience.

(2) No later than April 1, 2023, the working group shall provide the general assembly with recommendations for addressing the barriers to workforce entry and implementing the solutions identified by the working group; the recommendations shall outline any administrative and legislative action that would be required by participating agencies to implement the recommendations.