R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-13-2: Annual contract basis — Automatic continuation.

(a) Teaching service shall be on the basis of an annual contract, except as hereinafter provided, and the contract shall be deemed to be continuous unless the governing body of the schools shall notify the teacher, in writing, on or before March 1, that the contract for the ensuing year will not be renewed. If the dismissal or nonrenewal is based on fiscal exigency or program reorganization, the governing body shall notify the teacher on or before June 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the dismissal or nonrenewal is to become effective. Provided, however, that a teacher, upon request, shall be furnished a statement of cause for dismissal or nonrenewal of his or her contract by the school committee; provided further, that whenever any contract is not renewed, or the teacher is dismissed, the teacher shall be entitled to a hearing and appeal pursuant to the procedure set forth in § 16-13-4.

(b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or at any time to have prohibited, a school committee from agreeing, in a collective bargaining agreement, to the arbitration of disputes arising out of a dismissal or nonrenewal of a nontenured teacher pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.