---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- APPRENTICESHIP PATHWAYS TO EARNING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE ACT (Creates the Apprenticeship Pathways to Earning a Bachelor’s Degree Act, to enable an individual to earn a bachelor’s degree at public higher education institutions throughout the state by earning credits through apprenticeships.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- APPRENTICESHIP PATHWAYS TO EARNING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE ACT (Creates the Apprenticeship Pathways to Earning a Bachelor’s Degree Act, to enable an individual to earn a bachelor’s degree at public higher education institutions throughout the state by earning credits through apprenticeships.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 178"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 178 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Business & Professions", "Education", "Higher Education", "Labor", "Minors"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["DiPalma", "Euer", "Felag", "Gallo", "Lawson", "Pearson", "Valverde", "Zurier"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-16"
last_action: "2023-06-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ac1c438b-ae85-4fc6-bf9e-790d24abe211"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "e61c310558d227f6c181a0522f859a662adb1980a0411bda0dee8d09bc9fcb8c"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island SB 178 (2023) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- APPRENTICESHIP PATHWAYS TO EARNING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE ACT (Creates the Apprenticeship Pathways to Earning a Bachelor’s Degree Act, to enable an individual to earn a bachelor’s degree at public higher education institutions throughout the state by earning credits through apprenticeships.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **178** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText23/SenateText23/S0178.pdf)

## Votes

- EARNING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE ACT — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- IN CONCURRENCE — **67–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- DiPalma — primary (person)
- Euer — primary (person)
- Felag — primary (person)
- Gallo — primary (person)
- Lawson — primary (person)
- Pearson — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)
- Zurier — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-16** 02/16/2023 Introduced, referred to Senate Education `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2023-04-14** 04/14/2023 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (04/19/2023)
- **2023-04-19** 04/19/2023 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-25** 04/25/2023 Placed on Senate Calendar (04/27/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-04-27** 04/27/2023 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2023-04-28** 04/28/2023 Referred to House Education `referral-committee`
- **2023-06-07** 06/07/2023 Scheduled for consideration (06/09/2023)
- **2023-06-09** 06/09/2023 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-09** 06/09/2023 Placed on House Calendar (06/12/2023) `reading-3`
- **2023-06-12** 06/12/2023 House passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2023-06-15** 06/15/2023 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-21** 06/21/2023 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ac1c438b-ae85-4fc6-bf9e-790d24abe211`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).