This effort from Republican State Representative Mike Chippendale is worthwhile:

Drawing attention to the mandates state and federal law impose on local school districts has the healthy effect of encouraging people to learn about education funding, generally, and rationalizing the budgets in this way should have broad electoral support.

BUT this entirely misses the fundamental point, as I understand it.  The people who run local schools generally want the same things as the higher governments imposing the mandates.  They especially like having a ready-made (while also vague) villain to blame for increasing spending and taxes.

In short, education mandates are part of the elaborate scam Rhode Island insiders run on us all.  Unless Rep. Chippendale and his fellow Republicans intend to pivot toward exposing the scheme, then their plan is not fully formed.