§ 42-72.6-2 - Duties of director.
SECTION 42-72.6-2
§ 42-72.6-2 Duties of director. – The director of the department for children, youth, and families shall, withfull and reasonable staff and community participation, prepare a detailedcomprehensive educational plan for providing adequate and appropriateeducational services to all residents, without exception, of RITSY, as providedby state law. This comprehensive plan shall include, but not be limited to, thefollowing elements:
(1) A mission statement, in strict conformance with state andfederal law, which clearly delineates the goals and objectives of the RITSYeducational program, and provides an effective guide for the employment ofresources, and for expectations of the youth, parents, professional staff, thejudiciary, and the citizens of the state of Rhode Island about their roles andresponsibilities in the system;
(2) A system of governance for the educational program, whichdelineates the chain of authority, provides adequate and appropriate decisionalauthority to the administrative, educational, custodial, social service andother professional staff, and which defines and coordinates their roles in theeffective operation of the system;
(3) A state of the art educational program which comprehendsthe profound and diverse needs of incarcerated youth and includes, but is notlimited to, the following elements:
(i) Programming for youth who have not graduated fromsecondary school including: academic, vocational, technical, computer, life andcareer skill development;
(ii) Programming for students who have completed a secondaryschool program or who have obtained a general equivalency diploma (GED),including: college courses, vocational and technical courses, life andparenting skills, and job readiness;
(iii) Programming as above for students with limited Englishproficiency or other special needs;
(iv) Educational programming that provides specialeducational programming to residents in conformance with their needs, as wellas state and federal law, but which does not limit the RITSY school curriculumto special educational services;
(v) A "total programming" approach, which places theeducational service component in the context of a youth centered rehabilitativeprogram, which concentrates on the development of educational and socialcompetence in residents;
(vi) A plan for obtaining accreditation through anappropriate form or model for the educational program; and
(vii) The creation of a forum which provides an inclusive,cooperative model for involving the other state departments, as appropriate,members of the state's business community, religious community, voluntaryservices community, and social service community in advising and devisingprogramming, in supporting and advocating for the residents as they attempt tobuild new and successful lives in the community.