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SB 3276

AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE EDUCATION EQUITY AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ACT

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Melissa Murray and 1 co-sponsor

The bill reshapes funding for charter schools, Davies, and Met Center by adjusting state/local shares with enrollment-based changes, caps local reductions at 14%, and adds targeted

05/19/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 3276

Overview

  • Jurisdiction: Rhode Island
  • Session: 2026
  • Bill: SB 3276 (Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act)
  • Introduced: May 11, 2026 by Senators Thompson and Murray; referred to Senate Finance
  • Purpose: Adjust funding formulas and provide targeted financial relief related to charter public schools, the Davies Career and Technical High School, and the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (the Met Center). The act focuses on state and local funding shares, enrollment-based payments, and temporary aid to districts with significant charter/Davies/Met Center enrollments. It also removes a prior 14% local-per-pupil reduction limit for 2026.

What the bill changes (Key Provisions)

  1. Funding Mechanism for Charter Public Schools, Davies, and the Met Center (Section 16-7.2-5)
  • Charter schools, Davies, and the Met Center are funded under the state-permanent foundation model.
  • If October 1 enrollment data shows a 10% or greater change from the prior year’s reference enrollment, the last six monthly payments to the charter-related entities will be adjusted to reflect actual enrollment.
  • State share: Calculated using the district-of-residence state-share ratio; state pays the charter-related entities directly.
  • Local share: Paid by the student’s district of residence; calculated as the district’s local, per-pupil funding (from property taxes, net of debt service and capital projects) divided by its average daily membership for the reference year.
  1. Local-Share Reduction to Charter/Davies/Met Center (Section 16-7.2-5, subsections c)
  • Beginning in FY 2017, districts must reduce the local per-pupil funding to these entities by the greater of:
    • (i) 7% of the district’s local per-pupil funding, or
    • (ii) The district-specific per-pupil value of certain listed costs (non-public textbooks, transportation for non-public students, retiree health benefits, out-of-district special education costs, services for students aged 18-21, pre-school screening and intervention, and CTE-related costs, among others) minus the average related expenses incurred by charter entities for those same categories, as reported in the Uniform Chart of Accounts, with adjustments based on prior audited data.
  • If audits change the calculation after initial payments, subsequent payments use the most recent audited data.
  • For districts where reduction type (ii) applies, an additional reduction applies to mayoral academies with teachers not in the state retirement system, equal to the per-pupil value of teacher retirement costs attributable to unfunded liability (per the state actuary) for the prior fiscal year.
  • A ceiling: Beginning in FY2026, the local-pupil reduction shall not exceed 14%.
  1. Timing of Local District Payments (Section 16-7.2-5, subsection d)
  • Local-district payments to charter/Davies/Met Center must be quarterly (July, October, January, April).
  • The first local-district payment must be made by August 15 (instead of July).
  • Failure of a district to make local-district payments can result in withholding of state education aid.
  1. Additional Aid for Districts with Substantial Charter/Davies/Met Center Enrollment (Section 16-7.2-5, subsection e)
  • Beginning in FY2017, districts where charter public school, Davies, and Met Center enrollment (combined) is 5% or more of average daily membership receive additional aid for three years.
  • Aid amounts (based on reference-year enrollment):
    • FY2017: $175 per enrolled student
    • FY2018: $100 per enrolled student
    • FY2019: $50 per enrolled student
  • Purpose: To offset adjusted fixed costs retained by districts of residence.
  1. Note on Deleted Provision (Section 16-7.2-5, subsection f)
  • A previously included provision was deleted (as per P.L. 2023, ch. 79, art. 8, § 2). The specifics are not repeated in this version.
  1. Effective Date
  • The act takes effect upon passage.

Who Is Affected

  • Charter public schools (as defined in Rhode Island law)
  • The William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School
  • The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (the Met Center)
  • Districts with substantial enrollments in charter schools, Davies, and/or the Met Center
  • Students enrolled in charter/public and related services
  • Districts, particularly with respect to local property-tax funding and per-pupil funding calculations

Potential Impacts

  • Shifts in funding responsibilities and timing between state and local sources for charter-related entities.
  • A mechanism to adjust payments in response to enrollment volatility, aiming to reflect actual student counts more accurately.
  • A targeted, temporary aid program for districts with significant charter-related enrollment to mitigate fixed-cost pressures.
  • A cap on local-per-pupil reductions starting in 2026, with a 14% ceiling, potentially limiting reductions in local funding to charter-related entities.
  • Administrative implications for auditing data and ensuring timely quarterly payments, with consequences if districts fail to remit local shares.

Timeline and Key Dates

  • Enactment: Effective upon passage (immediate effect).
  • Enrollment adjustments: Triggered by October 1 enrollment data; adjustments apply to the last six monthly payments if there is a 10% or greater change from the reference year.
  • FY2017 onward: Local-per-pupil reductions and related mechanisms apply, with the 14% cap in place starting FY2026.
  • Annual quarterly payments: July, October, January, April (first August 15 payment deadline).

If you’d like, I can provide a layperson-friendly one-page brief or a side-by-side comparison with current law to highlight changes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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