§ 16-53.1-2. Establishment of school improvement teams.
(a)(1) The school board or school committees of the cities and towns shall establish a school
improvement team for each school in the district, and shall develop procedures for
the election and appointment of school improvement team members. Each school improvement
team shall be composed of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers,
education support employees, students, parents, and other business and community citizens
who are representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the
school, provided that vocational-technical center and high school school-improvement
teams shall include students, and middle and junior high school school-improvement
teams may include students. Members representing teachers, education support employees,
students, and parents shall be selected by their peer groups at the school in a fair
and equitable manner. At the middle and high school levels, where there are designated
department heads, those department heads will also be included on the school improvement
team. At a minimum, these school improvement teams at this middle and high school
level shall include at least one department head from a humanities subject area and
at least one department head from one of the science, technology, engineering, or
mathematics subject areas.
(2) Business and other community members shall be selected by the school according to
a procedure established by the school board. The school board shall review the membership
composition of each school improvement team. Should the school board determine that
the membership elected by the school is not representative of the ethnic, racial,
and economic community served by the school, the board shall appoint additional members
to achieve proper representation. For the purposes of school improvement teams, the
term "teacher� includes classroom teachers, certified student services personnel,
and media specialists. For purposes of this subsection, "education support employee�
means any person employed by a school who is not defined as instructional or administrative
personnel pursuant to law and whose duties require twenty (20) or more hours in each
normal working week.
(3) The school board or school committees of the cities and towns shall establish a districtwide
student safety and behavioral health committee ("SSBHC�). Each committee shall have
representation from administration (to be appointed by the superintendent), at least
two (2) certified staff (to be appointed by the local collective bargaining agent),
and at least two (2) support staff (to be appointed by the local collective bargaining
agent), and may also include a school resource officer to be appointed by the superintendent.
The school board or school committee shall strive to have staff representation from
the elementary, middle, and high school level on the SSBHC. The SSBHC shall be responsible
for:
(i) Ensuring that the district has a comprehensive policy to provide mental health support
to students in need and address student behaviors to minimize disruptions of the learning
environment for all students in a non-punitive manner, in line with best practice
and student needs;
(ii) Ensuring such policies are properly implemented;
(iii) Assessing the mental health supports available to students;
(iv) Discussing possible improvements to policies and procedures;
(v) Making recommendations to the school board or school committee regarding potential
policy changes; and
(vi) Providing an annual report to the school board or school committee on student safety,
mental health, and behaviors, including any recommendations to improve student safety
and outcomes in a non-punitive manner while ensuring a stable learning environment
for all students. The SSBHC shall work with the school improvement teams to improve
student safety and behavioral outcomes at the school building level, but shall not
have access to any personally identifiable student information.
(b) The school board may establish a district school improvement team representative of
the district and composed of teachers, students, parents, and other citizens or a
district school improvement team which may be comprised of representatives of each
school improvement team.