Improving Rhode Island’s education system is a top priority for the governor and state legislative leaders as the new session of the General Assembly begins Tuesday.
Leaders of both parties said in interviews in the days before the session opened that they are concerned about educational outcomes, the state of school buildings and security issues. There was a sharp drop in math and English language proficiency among schoolchildren in the state during the pandemic. Test results released in November showed improvement in math, though not in English.
“Obviously, education is one of our top priorities this year for many reasons, because of the effect it has on almost everything,” said Democratic Senate Chairman Dominick Ruggerio.
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Ruggerio wants the state to continue moving toward universal pre-kindergarten, and new Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson wants to update the formula that allocates how state funds go to schools.
Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said after he was elected in November that his top priority is strengthening the education system, increasing incomes in all communities and ensuring there are enough skilled workers to fill the jobs that are created. He set a goal for Rhode Island students to score as well as or better than Massachusetts students on standardized tests by 2030. Voters in November also authorized a second $250 million bond for public school facilities. The first was approved in 2018.
In Rhode Island, as a new legislative session begins, elected officials are seeking solutions for education gaps related to COVID policy and more.
McKee will be sworn in Tuesday before the legislative session. The first day of the session is mainly ceremonial. State legislators will be sworn in and elect a House speaker and a Senate speaker for the next two years. Democrats, who dominate both chambers, have already endorsed the incumbents, Ruggerio and Democratic House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi.
Shekarchi plans to carefully watch the struggling Providence school system to ensure improvements are made and propose legislative solutions if they are not. In 2019, the state took over the city’s school system for at least five years. The move came shortly after a scathing report from Johns Hopkins University researchers found that the district was beset by low test scores, a crumbling infrastructure and widespread dysfunction.
New House Republican Minority Leader Michael Chippendale said more schools need school resource officers to address safety issues. He said Republicans want to create immersive language academies to improve English proficiency and give parents more opportunities to control where and how their children are educated, including allowing transfers out of failing school districts.
McKee’s budget proposal and legislative priorities for the coming year will help the state work toward the goal of increasing income for all residents, while continuing to provide immediate tax relief, stimulate housing construction, and ease business in Rhode Island, according to his office. McKee and Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, also a Democrat, are developing a vision for the state for the next decade. They call it “RI 2030.”
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Among the other priorities mentioned by legislative leaders, Ruggerio said the Senate seeks to improve the delivery of health and human services across the state, and aims to once again pass bills to codify Care Act protections. Affordable Health Care in state law and guarantee the constitutional right to a quality education. Both proposals were previously deadlocked in the House.
Shekarchi said that the most important issue is the budget and that he is also interested in creating a bioscience center. Chippendale said Republicans want to lower energy prices and help small businesses.
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“There will be a lot of new legislation on a lot of issues,” Shekarchi said. “We are open, transparent. We welcome public participation. I think it is the basis of democracy.”
