Have you considered going to your local city council or school committee meeting, but been unable to due to work, family, or transportation? We think local councils and committees should be as accessible to people who can’t make it to meetings in-person as those who can — from watching proceedings, viewing documents, and participating in public comment periods.
Still image from the recording of a 2026 Burrillville Town Council Meeting.
We reviewed the meeting accessibility practices of Rhode Island’s city and town councils and school committees in 2023, and we just updated our report in 2026.
Our report looks at four particular aspects of their public meeting practices:
- Do they livestream their meetings?
- Do they record their meetings and provide a video archive of them for future reference?
- Do they provide links to agenda item documents online?
- Do they allow remote participation by the public?
Search the table below to see how accessible your local city or town council and school committee — two of the most important local elected boards in any community — are, and then follow the 2-step instructions below to urge your local elected leaders to improve their accessibility!
Scroll to the bottom of this page to read and download the full report.
Check how accessible your city or town council and school committee policies are.
Read the full report.
Correction: The Cranston School Committee does allow remote participation, however this is not indicated on the agenda or website.
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