News & Commentary

The ACLU of RI is deeply saddened by the death Alvin J. Bronstein, a lifelong civil rights advocate and founder of the ACLU’s National Prison Project. Mr. Bronstein helped to set minimum constitutional standards for prisons across the country through his tireless legal work with the ACLU. He then went on to fight to reform prison conditions around the world.

The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles has agreed to provide a written driving test in Italian to an Italian national in need of a language accommodation. In July, the ACLU of Rhode Island filed a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of Danilo Saccoccio, a recent Italian immigrant whom the DMV has barred from taking the written driver’s license exam in any language other than English, Spanish or Portuguese. The complaint, filed with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, charges the DMV with violating a law that requires agencies receiving federal funding to provide meaningful access to programs and services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

By Johanna Kaiser, Development & Communications Associate

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has called on all school districts that currently have school resource officers (SROs) to re-evaluate their use in the schools and to revise the agreements they have with police departments that set out their job responsibilities. The call was prompted by incidents at Pawtucket’s Tolman High School last week (VIDEO), which reinforced many of the serious concerns the ACLU has long held regarding the routine presence of police officers in schools.

In response to a letter sent by ACCESS/RI, American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Press Association, New England First Amendment Coalition, and League of Women Voters of Rhode Island to Gov. Gina Raimondo on October 6, members of the Governor’s office staff held a meeting with the organizations today to discuss the administration’s handling of open records requests. The organizations released the following statement about today’s meeting:

This Thursday ACLU of Rhode Island members and supporters will be celebrating another year of protecting civil liberties, and there is still time for you to join us!

The American Civil Liberties of Rhode Island has raised serious concerns with a Johnston town ordinance passed last week that could impose “unwarranted, and potentially unlawful, hardship and penalties on individuals who have not engaged in fraudulent activity.” The ordinance, aimed at preventing non-residents from attending Johnston Public Schools, requires every family to submit an affidavit affirming residence their residency in the town. If they do not, the school may refuse to enroll or re-enroll a student.

The ACLU of Rhode Island and four other organizations are urging Rhode Island Attorney Peter Kilmartin to establish a uniform enforcement policy for the state’s new residency restriction law prohibiting individuals convicted of certain sex offenses from living within 1,000 feet of a school.