News & Commentary

The ACLU of Rhode Island has filed a brief today in Narragansett Municipal Court seeking dismissal of the charges against twelve people and businesses for violating a Town ordinance barring more than four unrelated people from living together. The brief, filed by ACLU of RI volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish, argues that the housing restriction, aimed at unruly URI students, is unconstitutional.

“The action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power, and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to reserve from all official control.”

Below is a statement issued today by the ACLU of Rhode Island on allegations that excessive punishment has been imposed on students who last month protested Warwick school district educational policies:

The ACLU of Rhode Island today commended the General Assembly for passing, and Governor Gina Raimondo for signing, legislation establishing transparent standards for the use of Internet filters in Rhode Island’s schools.

The ACLU of Rhode Island commended the General Assembly for passing, and Governor Raimondo for today signing, important legislation limiting the use of out-of-school suspensions in Rhode Island’s schools.

When the sun rose and the gavel came down at 6am on Saturday morning, June 18th, the ACLU of Rhode Island was still at the State House, monitoring important civil liberties legislation until the very last moments of the session. We will provide a more detailed review of the legislative session, along with a 2015-2016 voting scorecard, in our next newsletter (look for it in August), and you can check out an expanded list of some of the legislation we monitored last year here. For now, here are some of the highlights - and the lows - of the 2016 General Assembly session.

RI Legal Services and the ACLU of Rhode Island have filed a formal complaint with the state Department of Education, charging the Providence School District with violating various laws and regulations designed to provide appropriate educational services to students who are also English Language Learners (ELL).

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and R.I. Legal Services today applauded a Superior Court decision holding that the Cumberland school district could not charge a student a $700 fee in order to attend summer school to avoid repeating ninth grade. The ruling overturned a 2014 decision issued by former state Department of Education Commissioner Deborah Gist that, at the time, was denounced by educational advocacy groups as undermining decades of precedent guaranteeing a free and equal public education to all children in the state.

Citing widespread confusion about the potential use of PARCC exam results in a punitive manner against students in the near future, a coalition of organizations has filed an open records request with every school district in the state to obtain information about any plans they have to use the test for grading or graduation purposes before 2021.