ELI Healthy Schools Project: Rhode Island

Healthy, High Performance School Facilities:
Developments in State Policy

Rhode Island

Citation: R.I. Dept. of Education School Construction Regulations, R.I. Code of Reg. 08 010 015, §1.0
Effective: May 2007
Available: HERE

The Rhode Island Department of Education has incorporated into its school construction regulations a requirement that new construction and renovation projects that cost $500,000 or more must “comply with all requirements set forth in the most recent Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools Protocol (Northeast-CHPS), so that approved projects provide high quality learning environments, conserve natural resources, consume less energy, are easier to maintain, and provide an enhanced school facility.” The Northeast-CHPS guidance document is based on the original California CHPS, but is tailored “to the climate zones and school construction needs of the states in the Northeast...” See Northeast-CHPS here.

The Innovation in Governance Programs work to develop inventive approaches to new or entrenched environmental problems and changing technologies and economies. The programs focus on four objectives:

Investigate and promote innovative approaches to managing government agencies and private businesses that will achieve greater environmental protection.
Safeguard and strengthen the safety net of federal environmental law, its enforcement in the courts, and its state implementation through strategic research, education, and outreach.
Improve understanding of environmental governance tools by hosting visiting scholars and international delegations.
Through ELI’s Center for Business Environmental Strategy, provide information, ideas and tools for corporate environmental lawyers and executives to improve environmental management.

Healthy, High Performance School Facilities: Developments in State Policy

Rhode Island

Healthy, High Performance School Facilities:
Developments in State Policy