Amends the Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act to set the regionalization bonus at 2% of the state's share of foundation education aid for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2026, and for each year thereafter.

Plain-English Summary

This bill makes a specific change to Rhode Island's school funding formula, known as the Education Equity and Property Tax Relief Act. It sets a "regionalization bonus" — extra state funding given to school districts that share services or combine operations with neighboring districts — at a fixed rate of 2% of the state's share of base education funding. This new rate would take effect starting July 1, 2026, and would remain in place going forward.

The regionalization bonus is designed to encourage school districts to work together and share resources, which can help reduce costs for local communities. By locking in the bonus at 2%, this bill provides more predictability for school districts that are already regionalized or are considering it, since they would know exactly how much additional state funding to expect. The districts that benefit most directly are those that have merged or share educational services with other districts.

This bill primarily affects regional school districts, the state government (which determines how education dollars are distributed), and indirectly, local property taxpayers who rely on state aid to reduce the burden on local funding. It is currently in the early stages of the legislative process, having been introduced and referred to the Senate Finance Committee for review.