Rhode Island General Laws Title 16. Education § 16-63-5. Categories of adult education programs and service

(1) Category 1. Basic education, which shall consist of efforts to alleviate illiteracy and provide opportunities for academic achievement up to grade twelve (12) and which shall include instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, literature, social studies, science, pre-vocational subjects, and other knowledge and skills necessary to cope in contemporary life; courses in Americanization and citizenship for immigrants; teaching English to persons with no or limited ability with the language; and preparation for the demonstration of competencies to qualify for the adult high school diploma or for examinations to earn the general educational development or high school equivalency diploma.

(2) Category 2. Vocational training, which shall consist of the imparting of knowledge and skills necessary to become gainfully employed, at least at entry level, in a recognized occupation, and thus attain economic self-sufficiency, and which shall be conveyed by classroom instruction, on the job training, apprenticeships, and other appropriate methods.

(3) Category 3. Higher education, consisting of opportunities for adults to enter or re-enter universities and colleges, whether matriculating or nonmatriculating, at undergraduate and graduate levels, and whether part-time or full-time.

(4) Category 4. Continuing education in professional and technological occupations, which shall consist of efforts to insure that minimum competencies are maintained by persons who are employed in occupations which bear on the public health, safety, or general welfare, and for which there are licensing, certification, or other credentialing provisions in the general laws, and in which those persons shall participate, individually or in groups, by periodic reviews of fundamental and up to date knowledge and skills, in-service experience, performance assessment, or other systematic and ongoing methods, and which may involve earning continuing education units.

(5) Category 5. General personal development, which shall consist of any formal or informal activity in the pursuit and development of avocational, social, cultural, artistic, enrichment, recreational, or other interests.

(6) Category 6. Public service education, consisting of efforts, through mass media and by other methods, to inform, educate, and motivate residents of the state on vital and timely subjects, such as health, safety, civic affairs, and social concerns and behavior.

(7) Category 7. Supportive services, which shall consist of various accommodations intended to facilitate the pursuit of adult education in any of these specified categories, and which shall include information, counseling, and other guidance services, financial aid, care of children and other dependent persons, transportation, and other services.