Legislation

Every year, the ACLU of RI lobbies on hundreds of bills during Rhode Island's annual Legislative Session. Below are some of the bills we have tracked and testified on before the General Assembly. For more info on advocating for the issues you care about, check out our Advocacy 101 Guide. To see how your Reps and Senators voted on various bills over the past few years, visit our Legislative Voting Records page.

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Apr 21, 2023
H 5099, H 5200 Budget Amendment #9, S 77, S 242, S 274
disability rights
Apr 21, 2023
H 5099, H 5200 Budget Amendment #9, S 77, S 242, S 274

Rhode Island Hope Scholarship Act (H 5099, H 5200 Budget Amendment #9, S 77, S 242, S 274)

Disability Rights
Position: Support and Amend
Status: Signed into Law

We urged that language which appropriately accommodates students with disabilities who may need more time to complete their studies be included in the codification of a bill that would extend a free tuition...

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Apr 21, 2023
H 5299
students rights
Apr 21, 2023
H 5299

Arming Campus Police (H 5299)

Students’ Rights
Position: Oppose
Status: Died in Committee

Noting the significant danger posed by allowing weapons on school campuses, we opposed this legislation which would have removed institutional discretion and instead mandated that all campus police officers...

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Apr 21, 2023
H 6235, S 1013
racial justice
Apr 21, 2023
H 6235, S 1013

Ban on Hairstyle Discrimination (H 6235, S 1013)

Racial Justice
Position: Support
Status: Held for Further Study

In a move to ban a pervasive form of racial discrimination, we strongly supported a bill which would have expanded the definition of race under our state anti-discrimination laws to include “traits...

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Apr 21, 2023
S 189
students rights
Apr 21, 2023
S 189

School Discipline Reform (S 189)

Students’ Rights
Position: Support
Status: Died in Committee

We supported a critical piece of legislation which would have largely eliminated the ability for a K-5 student to be given an out-of-school suspension and strengthen the current reporting requirements for...

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Apr 7, 2023
H 5722, S 815
government transparency
Apr 7, 2023
H 5722, S 815

Remote Public Participation in Open Meetings (H 5722, S 815)

Government Transparency
Position: Support
Status: Passed House, Died in Senate

We supported this legislation which would have made two major changes to the Open Meetings Act.

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Apr 7, 2023
H 6181, S 811
racial justice
Apr 7, 2023
H 6181, S 811

Police Officer Certification and De-Certification (H 6181, S 811)

Racial Justice
Position: Support
Status: Died in Committee

As one of only two states without a process for the certification and de-certification of law enforcement officers, we strongly supported this legislation which would have instituted such oversight over...

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