AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS RETIREMENT

2026 Regular Session Introduced by John Burke and 5 co-sponsors

Unpaid parental or medical leaves with at least 135 days of attendance in a school year earn full-year service credit toward retirement.

05/14/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study

Summary of SB 2537 (2026) – Rhode Island

Purpose and intent

This act amends the Rhode Island Teachers Retirement provisions to adjust how service credit is earned for teachers who take unpaid parental or medical leaves during a school year.

The goal is to ensure that teachers who are on unpaid leave but meet a minimum level of attendance still receive credit for that school year, aligning retirement credit with actual school-year participation.

Key provisions and changes

Section 16-16-5 (Creditable service)

Unpaid leaves during a school year: A teacher who takes an unpaid parental or medical leave and serves at least 135 school days in that year shall receive credit for that entire school year toward service credit, rather than being potentially disadvantaged by the absence.
General service credit rules remain unchanged for:
Full-year service credit for teaching service.
Credit for leaves of absence up to a cumulative four years, with actuarial costs payable to receive such credit.
Credit for maternity leaves upon return, with contributions calculated as if the teacher’s compensation had not been interrupted.
Credit for service prior to July 1, 1949 under specified conditions, with actuarial cost payments.
Pro rata credit for part-time or job-share arrangements, limited to the portion actually worked; purchases for non-worked portions are not permitted.
No more than one year of service credit can be credited for any given calendar year, regardless of multiple positions.
No member may purchase service credit for any portion of a year for which they are already receiving service credit.

Effective date

The act takes effect upon passage.

Who is affected

Active teachers and members of the Rhode Island Teachers Retirement system who:

Take unpaid parental or medical leaves during a school year but attend at least 135 days of that year.
Are in part-time or job-share arrangements, or who have other leaves, under the existing framework for service credit.

Retirement Board: Responsible for determining the timing and conditions under which payments for service credit are made (consistent with existing provisions).

Procedural and timeline aspects

Referred to Senate Finance upon introduction.

Schedule indicates a hearing/consideration date set for May 14, 2026.

Effective date: immediate upon passage (no delayed effective date provided).

Practical impact

Teachers taking unpaid parental or medical leave who meet the 135-day threshold would receive full-year service credit for that year, which could positively affect retirement eligibility and benefit accrual.

The change narrows potential penalties for unpaid leave by recognizing substantial attendance as compensatory service credit.

Maintains actuarial cost framework for obtaining credit in other leave scenarios, preserving actuarial funding principles.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with the current statute to highlight all differences in plain language.