2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 16 - Education › Chapter 16-2 - School Committees and Superintendents [See Title 16 Chapter 97 — The Rhode Island Board of Education Act] › Section 16-2-11.1. - General powers and duties of school principals.

§ 16-2-11.1. General powers and duties of school principals.
(a)
Principals employed under this section shall be the educational administrators and managers of their schools and shall supervise the operation and management of their schools and school property, subject to the supervision and direction of the superintendent. The principal shall have any duties as are defined in this section and in this title and shall perform any other duties as may be vested in him or her by law. In addition to serving as the educational administrator and manager of his or her school, it shall be the duty of the principal:
(1)
In consultation with the school improvement team, to recommend the hiring of all teachers, athletic coaches, instructional or administrative aides, and other personnel assigned to the school, consistent with district personnel policies, collective bargaining agreements, and budgetary restrictions, and subject to the approval of the superintendent. Provided, that the hiring of employees may not interfere with the layoff or recall rights provided in collective bargaining agreements and the provisions of § 16-13-6.
(2)
To recommend the termination of any teachers, athletic coaches, instructional or administrative aides, and other personnel assigned to the school, consistent with district personnel policies, collective bargaining agreements, and budgetary restrictions, subject to review and prior approval by the superintendent and subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(3)
To oversee the care, control, and management of school facilities and equipment.
(4)
In consultation with the school improvement team, to prepare a school budget for consideration by the superintendent.
(5)
To provide for the evaluation of personnel assigned to the school, including all teachers, consistent with the standards developed by the school committee pursuant to § 16-2-9(a)(15).
(6)
In cooperation with the district’s leadership, to initiate a performance review plan for the school and for individual teachers.
(b)
It shall be the responsibility of the principal, in consultation with professional staff of the building, to promote participatory decision making among all professional staff for the purpose of developing educational policy.
(c)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or interfere with the rights of teachers and other school employees to collectively bargain pursuant to chapters 9.3 and 9.4 of title 28, or to allow any school principal to abrogate any agreement reached by collective bargaining.
(d)
Recognizing that there may be a transition period necessary to implement the provisions of this section, all local education agencies, as defined in chapter 97.1 of title 16, shall ensure that the implementation of the powers and duties of school principals as provided by this section are adopted and implemented as soon as practical, but no later than August 1, 2021.
History of Section.
P.L. 2019, ch. 224, § 3; P.L. 2019, ch. 259, § 3.