§ 16-60-6 - Commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
SECTION 16-60-6
§ 16-60-6 Commissioner of elementary andsecondary education. – The regents shall appoint a commissioner of elementary and secondary educationwho shall serve at the pleasure of the regents, provided that thecommissioner's initial engagement by the regents shall be for a period of notmore than three (3) years. For the purpose of appointing, retaining, ordismissing a commissioner, the governor shall serve as an additional votingmember of the board of regents, and provided that in the case of a tie, thepresident of the senate shall cast the deciding vote. The position ofcommissioner shall be in the unclassified service of the state and he or sheshall serve as the chief executive officer of the board of regents and as thechief administrative officer of the department of elementary and secondaryeducation. The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall havethe duties that are defined in this section and in this title and any otheradditional duties that may be determined by the regents, and shall perform anyother duties that may be vested in the commissioner by law. In addition to thegeneral supervision of the department of elementary and secondary education andthe appointment of the several officers and employees of the department, itshall be the duty of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education:
(1) To develop and implement a systematic program ofinformation gathering, processing, and analysis addressed to every aspect ofelementary and secondary education in the state, especially as that informationrelates to current and future educational needs.
(2) To prepare a master plan for elementary and secondaryeducation in the state; to coordinate the goals and objectives of the publicelementary and secondary education sector with the activities of the nonpublicelementary and secondary education sector where feasible.
(3) To communicate with and seek the advice of thoseconcerned with and affected by the board of regents' determinations.
(4) To implement broad policy as it pertains to the goals andobjectives established by the regents; to enforce standards and to exercisegeneral supervision over public elementary and secondary education in the stateand over all elementary and secondary nonpublic education in the state asprovided in subdivision (8) of this section; to assist in the preparation ofthe budget for elementary and secondary education and to be responsible upondirection of the regents for the allocation of appropriations, the acquisition,holding, disposition, and general management of property.
(5) To be responsible for the coordination of the variouselementary and secondary educational functions among the educational agenciesof the state including local school districts and to encourage and to assist inthe cooperation among them so that maximum efficiency and economy may beachieved.
(6) To assist the regents in the preparation and presentationannually to the state budget officer, in accordance with § 35-3-4, of atotal state elementary and secondary educational budget which shall include,but not be limited to, the budget of the department of elementary and secondaryeducation, subcommittees and agencies, and state aid to local school districts.
(7) To supervise the operation of the department ofelementary and secondary education, to have the duties as defined in §16-1-5 and in this title or in law wherever outlined, and other additionalduties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the regents.
(8) To perform the duties vested in the board of regents withrelation to nonpublic elementary and secondary educational institutions withinthe state under the terms of chapter 40 of this title, and other laws thataffect nonpublic elementary and secondary education in the state.
(9) To supervise the following specific functions:
(i) To recommend the basic subjects and courses of study tobe taught and instructional standards to be maintained in the public elementaryand secondary schools in the state.
(ii) To recommend standards and qualifications of teachersand to issue certificates upon approval of standards and qualifications by theregents.
(iii) To distribute state school funds in accordance with lawand regulations of the board of regents.
(iv) To certify as to the necessity of school constructionand that standards and design are in accordance with law and regulations of theregents and to approve a design for school construction throughout the state.
(v) To certify that school library standards and services arein accordance with law and regulations of the board of regents.
(vi) To recommend to the board of regents matters relating tothe transportation of pupils to school.
(vii) To require the observance of all laws relating toelementary and secondary schools and education.
(viii) To interpret school law and to decide anycontroversies that may be appealed to him or her from decisions of local schoolcommittees.
(ix) To prepare and recommend standard forms for the use oflocal schools when reporting to the department of elementary and secondaryeducation.
(x) To prepare standard accounting and auditing proceduresfor local school districts, except for the purposes of subdivision (3) of§ 16-24-2 which shall be done in conjunction with the auditor general.
(xi) To prepare uniform budgeting procedures for local schooldistricts.
(xii) To determine when special purpose grants made to localschool districts shall be eligible for reimbursement through the schooloperations aid formula in accordance with chapter 7 of this title, and todesignate the purpose(s) for which the local school district may use the schooloperations aid reimbursement, including reimbursement on local matching fundsused to support the special purpose grant. The commissioner shall promulgateand adopt rules and regulations to carry out the intent of this subsection.
(10) To approve and accredit elementary and secondary schoolsin accordance with the policy and regulations of the board of regents.
(11) To be responsible for the administration of policies,rules, and regulations of the board of regents with relation to the entirefield of elementary and secondary education within the state not specificallygranted to any other department, board, or agency and not incompatible with law.
(12) To receive from law enforcement agencies a listperiodically of the names of Rhode Island missing children and to disseminatethese lists to local school districts.