Non-Public Schools
All Rhode Island non-public schools that serve children in grades K-12 must be approved annually by RIDE. Non-public schools must follow the same legislative requirements as public schools.
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Applications for RIDE approval of Non-Public Schools for academic year (AY) 2024-2025 will be submitted on eRIDE and are due by June 30, 2024. We will update this page when the approval process is open on eRIDE.
Schools must accurately report their October 1, 2023 enrollment data in eRIDE before applying for AY 2024-2025 approval.
Please note that current schools who did not submit their enrollment data by January 20, 2024 or non-public schools who do not submit an application for AY2024-2025 will be removed from the RIDE Directory and will not be eligible for certain classifications of federal funding.
If you need assistance with eRIDE, please contact Mario Goncalves at Mario.goncalves@ride.ri.gov and if you have any questions about RIDE’s non-public school approval process, please contact nonpublicschools@ride.ri.gov
Requirements, Legislation, and Frequently Asked Questions
Rhode Island Non-Public School Requirements
Click on the topics listed below to learn about the associated non-public school requirement.
- Accreditation, Registration, Licensing, and Approval
- Teacher Certification
- Length of School Day and Year
- Curriculum
- Record Keeping / Reports
- Health and Safety Requirements
- Annual School Health Report
- Transportation
- Textbooks
- Testing
- Special Education
- Nursing and Health
- Technology
- Professional Development
- Reimbursement for Performing State / Local Functions
- Tax Exemption
- Public Aid for Private Education
Preschool Quality Improvement System
BrightStars is the state’s Tiered Quality Improvement System for all early learning programs. By June 2025, all public and non-public schools approved by RIDE that serve children between the ages of 3 and 5 will participate in BrightStars. Participation supports preschools in delivering high-quality early education.
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Reimbursement Protocols for English/Language Arts and History/Social Studies Non-Public Textbook Loan Program, Grades K-12 (posted 8/29/2023)
Legislation
RIDE approval of non-public schools in contingent upon their meeting all legal requirements in serving their students.
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:
- Updating Textbook List on eRIDE [PDF, 647KB]
Refer to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-3 for more information.
More information on the State Textbook Loan Program can be found here.
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.
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.
Reimbursement Protocols for English/Language Arts and History/Social Studies Non-Public Textbook Loan Program, Grades K-12 (posted 11/6/2024)
Announcements about this will be posted in RIDE's Field Memo.
Refer to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-23-3.1 for more information