State Textbook Loan Program

Each year, the Department of Education collects and distributes a listing of textbooks used in all public schools in the state of Rhode Island to meet the requirements of General Laws 16-23-2 and 16-23-3, which provide for the loan of textbooks to students enrolled in non-public schools in Rhode Island. The listing of textbooks can be found using this link.  

Districts are required to submit a complete listing of all textbooks planned for use during the upcoming academic year to RIDE by the end of March, using eRIDE.   

Announcements about this will be posted in RIDE's Field Memo.  

Districts may direct inquiries regarding textbook related technical issues to Mario Goncalves (Mario.Goncalves@ride.ri.gov); please direct any other questions to nonpublicschools@ride.ri.gov  

For additional information, you may refer to:  

Refer to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-3 for more information.  

 

Loan of Textbooks  

Non-Public Schools should coordinate with the traditional school districts in order to facilitate the textbook loan process. Reach out to nonpublicschools@ride.ri.gov if any assistance is needed.  

Non-public school students have a right to borrow textbooks on loan from the school committee of the city, town, or regional school district in which the pupil resides. Conversely, non-public school students have no right to be furnished with textbooks from any school committee of any city, town, or regional school district other than that in which the pupil resides. Residency of the non-public student for textbook loan purposes is determined in accordance with the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-1.   

Refer to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-2 for more information.  

 

Reimbursement Protocols for English/Language Arts and History/Social Studies Non-Public Textbook Loan Program, Grades K-12  

In September of each school year, RIDE will post a reimbursement form for non-public school textbooks on the Non-Public Schools and State Textbook Loan Program pages. Districts will be reimbursed for any English/language arts and history/social studies books for grades K-12 on the most recent year's State Textbook List, provided the district has complied with all requests from non-public school students, per R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-1 to 16-23-8.  

To process this reimbursement, the district must complete a verification form (which will be posted by RIDE), which is then signed by the superintendent or his/her designee and provides "evidence of cost" (R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-3.1). Evidence of cost is presumed to be clear documentation of district purchases of new books for non-public students. Districts are also asked to provide a summary page that demonstrates how the number of textbooks and total cost on the verification form were calculated.  

The verification form will be due in December of each school year. All questions regarding reimbursement should be addressed to Kristen Cole at Kristen.Cole@ride.ri.gov or 401-222-4681.  

Refer to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-3.1 for more information  

 

Current State Textbook List

SEARCH FOR TEXTBOOKS

Past State Textbook Lists

RELATED RESOURCES