In appreciating the legitimate interest in creating a legislative commission to study and provide recommendations on school safety protocols for Rhode Island schools, we urged that this resolution also include a provision that will set an openness standard for that commission by specifying that its meetings will be held in public except to the extent absolutely necessary for clearly articulated security reasons. Because the decisions of the commission may immediately impact the school environment and the education experience, we noted that parents, school employees, and students should expect some level of transparency as to the processes that are being considered and potentially implemented. This legislation passed the House without our proposed amendments, but died in the Senate.
