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The ACLU of Rhode Island today sent a letter to the Ordinance Committee of the Providence City Council in response to a resolution to establish a working group to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of the Community Safety Act (CSA) ordinance.  The letter raised a few concerns, most notably the resolution's proposal that the working group be permitted to 'enter executive session,' in possible violation of Rhode Island's Open Meetings Act.

In recognition that a large backlog of food stamp applications causing undue hardship to hundreds of poor residents continues to exist, the ACLU of Rhode Island today announced it was re-staffing a telephone hotline for people to call if they are having trouble with their SNAP (food stamp) application getting processed in a timely manner due to the state’s year-long UHIP computer fiasco. The hotline number is 1-877-231-7171.

Saying that many questions remain unanswered, the ACLU of Rhode Island today issued a five page commentary on the Thursday shooting of Joseph Santos by Providence and RI State Police after a high speed chase, precipitated by the belief that the car had a connection to the theft of a police cruiser earlier that morning by an escaped suspect, Donald Morgan. At this point, no connection between the two incidents has been established.

Coming on the heels of false allegations by President Trump of widespread voter fraud, the ACLU of Rhode Island today issued a report indicating that some lawful voters were turned away from the polls in November due to the state’s controversial voter ID law. The report documented a number of other concerns based on observations from a few dozen ACLU volunteer poll monitors during the 2016 general election. The findings generally mirror those contained in a report the ACLU issued after the 2012 Presidential election.

In the wake of the Trump Administration’s repeal of federal guidance addressing the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming students, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today released a report finding that only 60% of the state’s school districts currently have policies in place to protect the rights of transgender students. In light of that finding, the ACLU report is calling for the state Department of Education to require adoption and implementation of such policies by all local school districts.  Notably, the report highlights the multitude of issues facing transgender and gender non-conforming students, including privacy and confidentiality, the use of students’ preferred pronouns and participation in gender-segregated activities.