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Rhode Island General Laws Title 16. Education § 16-16-24.3. Substitute teaching and post-retirement teachers

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Notwithstanding any public or general law, or rule or regulation to the contrary, and except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any teacher member who has retired under the provisions of this title (“education”) may exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment and work up to one hundred eighty (180) days during a school year upon:

(1) A determination by the local education authority (“LEA”) that there exists a specialized need, within the authority, to fill positions on a temporary basis, that may require the LEA to employ retired teachers and exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment;

(2) Retired teacher members being asked to exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment possess the skills, training, and knowledge necessary to help address teacher staffing shortages;  and

(3) The local education authority has notified the state retirement board that it has determined that exceeding the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment is necessary to help address teacher staffing shortages.  Provided, however:

(i) No employment may be offered to a retiree subject to this section unless the employer has made a good-faith effort each school year to fill the position with a nonretired employee without success, and certifies, in writing, that it has done so to the employees' retirement system and to the bargaining agents of all education unions with whom the employer has collective bargaining agreements;

(ii) The LEA provides in its notice to the state retirement board and the bargaining agents the total number of certified teacher positions within the LEA, including the number of teacher positions filled and the number of teacher positions the LEA is seeking to fill;  and

(iii) The total number of retired teachers an LEA may hire under the provisions of this section may not exceed five percent (5%) of the total number of certified teacher positions reported to the state retirement board by the LEA pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(ii) of this section.

(b) Any teacher member who has retired under the provisions of this title, and has been employed or re-employed under the provisions of this section, shall not be entitled to additional service credits for such employment, and the teacher member shall not be responsible for any contribution to the pension system as a result of the employment;  provided, however, the local educational authority shall make the employer contribution for the teacher member as if the district had hired a new teacher member.

(c) A teacher retired under the provisions of this title shall be subject to a ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment during the period of one year after the date of that teacher's retirement.  Thereafter, that teacher shall be eligible to exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment as provided in subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The provisions of this section shall apply retroactively to June 20, 2025, and shall sunset one year from enactment or on August 1, 2026, whichever shall occur first.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Rhode Island General Laws Title 16. Education § 16-16-24.3. Substitute teaching and post-retirement teachers - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ri/title-16-education/ri-gen-laws-sect-16-16-24-3/

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