(a)  Whenever a tenured teacher is terminated for good and just cause pursuant to § 16-13-3 by a school committee or the governing body of a charter or private school, the school committee or the governing body of the charter or private school shall, within sixty (60) days of the termination or in cases where the termination is appealed, within sixty (60) days after the conclusion of the appeal filed by the terminated tenured teacher when the termination is upheld, furnish the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education with the identity of the terminated teacher. Provided, this section shall not apply to:

(1)  The nonrenewal of a contract of a nontenured teacher pursuant to § 16-13-2; or

(2)  The termination of a tenured teacher due to fiscal exigency or program reorganization.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 16-13-9

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • teacher: as used in this chapter means every person for whose position a certificate issued by the department of elementary and secondary education is required by law. See Rhode Island General Laws 16-13-1

(b)  The department shall maintain a list of those teachers who have been terminated for good and just cause (the “list”) and shall update the list monthly to include the names of any additional teachers submitted by a school committee or the governing body of a charter or private school pursuant to the provisions of this section. This list of terminated teachers shall be accessible only to the hiring authority of any private, parochial, charter, or public school.

(c)  The list of terminated teachers shall not be a public record pursuant to the “access to public records act” (APRA) set forth in chapter 2 of Title 38. This section shall not abrogate or modify any existing statutory or common law privileges or immunities.

History of Section.
P.L. 2022, ch. 418, § 1, effective June 30, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 419, § 1, effective June 30, 2022.