(a)  A collaborative approach to the dual mission of educational effectiveness and business efficiency is the purpose of this educational collaborative act. The goal is to maximize both educational effectiveness and business services which will lead to cost savings. The educational collaborative system will allow school districts to more appropriately concentrate on educating at the most local level, which should be their prime mission. This system can be defined as including not only the regional educational collaboratives and their boards, local district school committees and district superintendents, operating as private, nonprofit educational service agencies, but also the board of regents and the commissioner of the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education.

(b)  As used herein, the terms “collaborative,” “educational collaborative,” “regional collaborative,” and combinations thereof, shall be deemed to refer to the collaboratives established pursuant to this chapter, and recognized as 501(c)3 nonprofit corporations incorporated pursuant to the Rhode Island Nonprofit Corporation Act, Rhode Island general laws § 7-6-1, et seq. Nothing in this legislation is intended to erode the legal status of the regional collaboratives as 501(c)3’s and their boards of directors must be cognizant to their legal and fiduciary responsibilities to these enterprises.

(c)  The purpose of this act is also to bring the efforts of the members of the educational collaborative system, listed in subsection (a) above, into appropriate and productive dialogue and relationship with one another, in order to bring about the business efficiencies and quality instructional practice the legislature desires.