News & Commentary

The South Kingstown School Committee has approved an ACLU of RI-drafted resolution clarifying that SK schools will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) absent a valid judicial warrant that has been verified by the district superintendent and its legal counsel.  A similar policy was approved by the Central Falls School District in June 2017. Although an ICE policy purports to restrict enforcement actions in “sensitive locations” such as schools, churches and hospitals, that policy has not been uniformly followed, and immigration enforcement actions across the nation have been unpredictable. The motion to approve the resolution was unanimous. “We applaud the SK School Committee for passing this important resolution to protect immigrant students and families.  We hope other school committees in RI will follow their lead,” said Steven Brown, ACLU of RI executive director.

Citing a “persistently disproportionate use of disciplinary action and suspensions against students of color,” the ACLU of Rhode Island has called upon Providence school officials to take immediate action to address this problem before the school session starts next month – a problem that former school superintendent Christopher Maher attributed to “racism” before he stepped down from his post earlier this year.

In an important decision enforcing a law aimed at reducing harm caused by out-of-school suspensions, an appeals committee of the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education (CESE) has upheld an R.I. Department of Education (RIDE) hearing officer’s decision that the Barrington School District improperly issued an out-of-school suspension to a middle school student. The ACLU of  RI represented the student in the appeal after the district contested the RIDE hearing officer’s decision that there was no evidence that the student’s conversation with others – prompted by a recent school shooting – was “disruptive,” a requirement for out-of-school suspension.

The ACLU has asked the R.I. Supreme Court to overturn a Superior Court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of a problematic Providence housing ordinance that prohibits more than three “college students” from living together in certain housing in some areas of the city.  In her February 2018 decision, Superior Court Judge Maureen Keough acknowledged “strong reservations concerning the effectiveness” of the ordinance and agreed it “seems nonsensical,” but ultimately ruled against the students and found the ordinance constitutional. However, in a brief filed with the Supreme Court this week, ACLU attorneys argue that the ordinance unconstitutionally “relegates anyone enrolled in college or graduate school to the status of second-class citizen within the City of Providence.”

All kids in Rhode Island have the right to a free public education, no matter their race, ethnic background, religion, or sex, or whether they are rich or poor, citizen or non-citizen.

The ACLU of RI and RI Legal Services (RILS) today applauded a “guidance document” issued this month by RI Department of Education (RIDE) Commissioner Ken Wagner barring school districts from charging students any fees for school-sponsored field trips. The guidance was issued in response to an inquiry from the East Greenwich School Committee.

RILS and the ACLU of RI have appealed a state Commissioner of Education ruling upholding the Providence School District’s method of providing services to English Language Learners (EL), but which the two groups claim clearly violates federal and state law and significantly shortchanges the educational rights of EL students. In essence, the groups charge, RIDE has interpreted the state’s regulations governing EL instruction to provide less support to those students than federal law itself requires.

The ACLU of RI and Progreso Latino issued the following statements regarding yesterday’s unanimous vote by the Central Falls City Council to repeal the City’s unjust youth curfew ordinance: ACLU of RI: “The ACLU of RI applauds the Central Falls City Council for repealing this ineffective and counterproductive ordinance.  The evidence is clear that youth curfews don’t reduce crime, and may actually undermine public safety.  Furthermore, the ordinances make perfectly innocent activity – walking outside at night – illegal, and disproportionately affect youth of color.  We commend the Council for taking the evidence-based, principled approach here and finally repealing this ordinance.” Progreso Latino: “Progreso Latino would like to commend the Central Falls City Council for getting rid of the juvenile curfew that criminalized youth for being outside and further exposed them to possible police harassment.” In December 2018, the groups sent a letter to Central Falls Mayor, James Diossa, urging him to work with the City Council to repeal the City’s youth curfew law.  More information can be found here.

Settlement agreements have been filed in two cases brought last October by the ACLU of RI and RI Legal Services to protect the rights of special education students who were harmed by Providence’s three-week long school bus strike. Although some remedies have already been implemented by the Providence school district in response to the legal actions, the settlement agreements, filed with the R.I. Department of Education, establish additional enforceable school district educational and financial obligations to compensate the students and their families.