Legislation

Budget articles passed by the legislature took some positive steps in addressing the continued overcrowding problem at the R.I. Training School.

The ACLU and children’s rights advocates were shocked when the House Finance Committee passed out a budget that retained a proposal from the Governor and DCYF to treat all 17 year olds as adults for criminal purposes.

In response to a tragic incident where a teenager was killed in a drag race, the General Assembly approved an Attorney General bill that sets steep criminal penalties for this practice.

The General Assembly overwhelmingly approved an ACLU bill to require schools to take a caseby- case approach in determining the appropriate discipline for students charged with drug, alcohol or weapons violations.

The legislature approved requiring public schools to educate students about, and respond to incidents of, “dating violence,” but only after the bill was amended at the ACLU’s request.

An ACLU bill that would require schools to take a case-by-case approach in determining the appropriate discipline for students charged with drug, alcohol or weapons violations, passed the Senate but died in the House.

The General Assembly approved an ACLU bill setting standards for police interrogation of students in public schools.

The Senate took no action on a House-passed bill to give school districts the power to disenroll any student they deemed to be a “habitual truant” if the school claimed it could not reach the child’s parents.

The General Assembly approved an ACLU bill to protect the confidentiality of student school records to the same extent they are protected by federal law.