New School Requirments Proposed

By Martha Bebinger and Deborah Becker

WRNI – Two state lawmakers are proposing sweeping changes in state laws about public school education.

Their bill would create tighter state regulations about what time schools start and end the day and the minimum age for beginning and finishing school. It would also create a maximum class size for each grade and for some subjects.

The legislation would also create minimum standards for graduation. ?We?re tying the issuance of a diploma to attendance, behavior and performance,? said one of the bill?s sponsors, representative Paul Crowley

Under the bill, those same measures would also be used to determine whether students can receive driver?s licenses, or participate in other extra-curricula activities.T

Rep. Crowley maintained some uniformity in standards is required for the 36 school districts in Rhode Island.

?We have one state standard for our assessment. So we think we should have one state standard in terms of attendance and behavior and effort across the state,? he said.

WRNI's Deborah Becker talked with Representative Crowley.