Investing in All Students

• Launched a new partnership with RIDE, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), and Hazel Health to expand access to comprehensive, virtual mental health services to students across the state. Rhode Island is now on track to become the first state on the East Coast to launch a statewide telehealth initiative of this kind. This new service will not replace current school and district-level efforts but rather complement them. 
• Allocated an additional $7.4 million in the FY 2025 enacted budget to support Multilingual Learners (MLL), increasing the additional percentage of the Core Instruction Amount for each student in the three lowest English proficiency categories for MLLs to 20 percent. 
• Reimagined the high school experience and graduation requirements to better meet the needs of all students by updating Secondary Regulations. 
  • Engaged stakeholders throughout K-12 education in an 18-month collaborative process to develop and adopt updated secondary regulations that establish statewide graduation requirements. These regulations establish college and career-ready coursework as the default expectation for every child in Rhode Island regardless of where they live, their parent’s income, the language they speak at home, or their disability status. They also recommend the inclusion of real- world relevant learning experiences such as civics, financial literacy, and computer science as graduation requirements. 
• Included additional supports in the FY 2024 budget to help districts manage changes in their demographics from one year to the next, including poverty loss stabilization and an enrollment loss transition fund, which provided two years of funding to districts experiencing enrollment declines. 
• Supported students’ nutritional needs by annually investing to transition students in Rhode Island schools from being eligible for reduced-price breakfast and lunch to receiving both meals at no cost. 
• Expanded RIDE’s All Course Network (ACN) in FY 2024 and FY 2025, which offers enrichment and credit-bearing opportunities for PreK-12 students in a wide range of topics, including Cybersecurity Fundamentals, AP Psychology, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), PSAT and SAT.
• Prep, and Food Truck Entrepreneurship. The ACN serves nearly 4,000 students through more than 8,200 learning experiences each school year. All districts participate in the network, with courses offered by 24 provider organizations in FY 2024. 

• Established the LEAP District Support Program and Task Force, which provided a framework guiding Rhode Island’s post-pandemic acceleration agenda and addressing concerns with learning recovery. Program participants were eligible for matching funds from a pool of more than $20 million to invest in programs that accelerated student learning and provided specialized supports. 
• Awarded 12 high-need LEAs with $4.8 million in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) Stronger Connections Grant program federal subgrants to establish strategies and carry out activities that will help increase students’ sense of belonging and safety. Strategies and activities are focused on violence, harm, inclusion, belonging, mental health, and social-emotional wellness. 
• Supported the holistic needs of students through $10 million in federal funds to recruit and retain mental health service providers who can further support student well-being and the $3 million W.E.L.L. Initiative (Wellness in Education Leads to Learning), which will support the development of wellness spaces in schools statewide, allowing students and staff to experience a quiet atmosphere and have a chance to decompress. 

• Encouraged students to explore their creativity through a $5 million Art Reengages Talent in All Students (ARTS) Initiative, providing every Rhode Island public and charter school with funds to support arts in their schools, including culinary, visual and media arts, performing arts, and design. 
• Signed a multitude of bills into law that invest in education and support our students and teachers, including assisting LEAs in implementing a dual language immersion program, implementing trauma-informed practices in schools throughout the state, and revisingthe fast-track principal certification program to require a course in program evaluation (including data analysis) and to build leadership skills that support teaching and learning. 
• Created the Young Leaders Advisory Group, which invites young adults to engage with Rhode Island leaders, share their perspectives, and discuss government and public policy. The group consists of approximately 60 young adults who meet with Governor McKee and special guests biweekly to engage in roundtable discussions.