Rhode Island § 16-99-3 - Full-Day Kindergarten Accessibility Act

§ 16-99-3. Full-day kindergarten.

(a) For the purpose of this chapter, the term “full-day kindergarten” means a kindergarten program that operates a minimum of five and one-half (5½) hours or three hundred thirty (330) minutes of actual school work, excluding lunch, recess periods, common planning time, pre- and post-school teacher time, study halls, homeroom periods, student passing time and any other time that is not actual instructional time.

(b) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education has discretion to further define and approve full-day kindergarten programs consistent with this section through the 2015-2016 school year.

(c) Beginning August 2016, each school district must offer full-day kindergarten to every eligible student to qualify for state education aid provided for in title 16. In fiscal year 2016, the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall provide funding to support transition expenses for all districts that do not offer universal full-day kindergarten programs in the 2015-2016 school year. This funding shall not exceed the amount of state aid that would otherwise have been provided to the district for operating a universal full-day kindergarten program and shall be based upon 2015 enrollment data and funding formula transition rates. For purposes of the calculation under this section, a district’s half-day kindergarten enrollment as of March 2015 shall be multiplied by two.