News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island has sent a letter to Attorney General Peter Kilmartin urging him to close any criminal investigation into a Facebook page satirizing Rep. Scott Guthrie — a page the ACLU says is a clear exercise of free speech.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has urged the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) to reexamine a proposed regulation that would force children out of day care and childcare providers out of work if they are not vaccinated for the flu, even if they are unvaccinated for medical reasons. In testimony submitted to the DOH, the ACLU called the regulation a “serious intrusion on the ability of individuals and families to make their own medical decisions.”

As questions swirl around the rationale behind certain aspects of the RI Department of Education’s required “waiver” process that is supposed to be available to students who do not “pass” the NECAP test, the ACLU of Rhode Island has sent a letter to the Board of Education raising serious concerns about the implementation of the entire “waiver” process itself. That process, claimed the ACLU, is in many instances “a completely arbitrary hodgepodge of inconsistent, incomplete, and poorly advertised policies that can only leave students and parents understandably anxious and perplexed.”

The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed an open records request today with the Cranston Police Department in an effort to determine whether the decision by a police captain to engage in blitz ticketing of overnight parking violators, after the Cranston City Council voted down a proposed union contract, was done through official channels.

The ACLU of Rhode Island has released materials today advising voters of their rights at the polls as Woonsocket prepares to host the state’s first election under a restrictive photo voter ID law.

The ACLU of Rhode Island said today that the RI Department of Education has essentially acknowledged that the NECAP test – the high stakes test that it requires students to pass in order to get a high school diploma – is not a useful indicator of a student’s college readiness. It has done so after years of claiming otherwise, said the ACLU, by quietly revising its waiver policies this month to give diplomas to students who do not “pass” the NECAP if they are accepted into a “non-open enrollment, accredited higher education institution” or national community service programs like AmeriCorp or City Year.

In response to the ongoing controversy in Cranston involving the apparent retaliation taken against two City Council members for their vote in November on a police union contract, the ACLU has written to Mayor Allan Fung, raising concerns about the investigation of the incident that is being conducted.

The ACLU of Rhode Island is asking a court to impose fines against the Pawtucket School District for failing to respond to an open records request the ACLU submitted in October. The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court by ACLU volunteer attorney Karen Davidson, charges that the district unlawfully failed to respond to two requests from the ACLU for public documents. It is the second time in two years the ACLU has sued Pawtucket schools for ignoring the open records law.

The ACLU of Rhode Island today urged Exeter voters to know their rights at the polls for Saturday’s election, particularly in regard to the state’s Voter ID law.  Under the state’s Voter ID law, voters are required to show some form of identification to vote.  Photo ID is not required.  Registered voters who are unable to show identification must still be allowed to vote, and must be offered a provisional ballot at the polling place which will be counted as a full ballot after poll workers verify the signature matches that on a voter registration.  To help inform voters about the requirements of this law and other election issues, the ACLU has published a free brochure explaining rules and regulations surrounding voting on Election Day, the new voter identification rules, and how to deal with problems at the polls.  That brochure is available on the ACLU’s website.