Chapter 41: Rhode Island

Rhode Island became a state in 1790, and the first state constitution was adopted in 1843. The Rhode Island constitution provides for public education:

Beginning in the 1960s, legislative engagement in providing state aid to Rhode Island public schools focused on the ‘minimum guarantee,’ a required minimum level the state provides for school revenue. In 1960, the Rhode Island General Assembly enacted the Foundation Level Support Act, with a guaranteed minimum state aid of 25% and simultaneously established the School Housing Act to support school construction. In 1964, the minimum guarantee was legislatively increased to 30% of revenue available to school districts. The 1967 Thibeault Commission used median family income, rather than local property values, to adjust district wealth in calculating state aid, believed to better reflect a district’s current fiscal conditions. In 1983, the General Assembly decreased the minimum guarantee to 28%. In 1985, the General Assembly passed the Omnibus Property Tax Relief and Replacement Act, with the accompanying goal of increasing the state’s share to 50% of district revenue.