§ 16-67.1-2. Targeted dropout prevention program. (a) The Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall work with the school districts that have the lowest high school graduation rates. The department shall incorporate into its progressive support and intervention specific dropout prevention strategies, target resources, and gather data that will include graduation rates and educational outcomes in all Rhode Island schools.

(b) The department shall develop specific methods of targeted intervention or identify appropriate existing methods for school districts that have a dropout rate greater than fifteen percent (15%) as determined by the department of elementary and secondary education. These interventions methods may include:

(1) Early intervention for students who fail Algebra I or any ninth grade math class and have insufficient credits to be promoted;

(2) Alternative programs designed to reengage dropouts including dual enrollment courses at the community college level;

(3) Increased availability of advanced placement courses;

(4) Offering full course fee waivers for students eligible for free and reduced lunches, when enrolled in dual credit courses;

(5) Flexible programs for older students who are currently not enrolled;

(6) Comprehensive supplemental education programs for middle school students who are below grade level in reading and math;

(7) Teacher advisories and other supports that are designed to specifically address the needs of youth most at risk of dropping out of school;

(8) Strategies that are specifically designed to improve high school graduation rate of teens at highest risk for dropping out, including youth in the foster care system, pregnant and parenting youth, English as a second language learners, and teens with special education needs; and

(9) Communicating with parents and students about the availability of local afterschool programs and the academic enrichment and other activities the programs offer.

(c) The department shall also gather the following data to ensure that all programs are research-based and data-driven and use such data for continuous program improvement:

(1) The total number of high school suspensions related to truancy;

(2) Total number of students enrolled in alternative programs;

(3) Total number of students who have been reenrolled in programs with flexible schedules or community college programs;

(4) Total number of freshmen who have personal literacy plans (PLPs);

(5) Total number of students who have failed Algebra I or ninth grade math;

(6) Total number of students who are repeating the ninth grade;

(7) Total number of students receiving remedial programming in the ninth grade; and

(8) The percentage of children in the care of DCYF who do not graduate from high school.

(d) In school districts involved in progressive support intervention the department of elementary and secondary education shall prepare and submit each year a written report that documents:

(1) The outcomes of the dropout prevention strategies to date, at the school district level; and

(2) How the school district dropout prevention strategies and activities will be modified, based on the data.

History of Section. (P.L. 2007, ch. 226, § 1.)