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Rhode Island Voter Information Center

Register to vote, check your voter registration information, contact your local board of canvassers, view sample ballots for upcoming elections, find out where your polling place is located and find out who your elected officials are.

https://vote.sos.ri.gov/

GoLocalProvidence: Providence Schools’ Million Dollar Bus Battle

Monday, September 12, 2016
Kate Nagle, GoLocal News Editor

Providence schools currently spend over $1.5 million annually on RIPTA bus passes for students - now parents and officials are questioning recent route changes. 

The Providence Public School District (PPSD) pays more than $1.5 million a year for RIPTA passes for high school students living more than two miles from their school  -- and parents and officials are calling out RIPTA for cutting bus routes in the new school year with earlier start times.

Currently, PPSD has a memorandum-of-understanding (MOU) with RIPTA in which it purchases 2,500 monthly passes for students for a non-discounted rate of $70 a month. Now, following route reductions to Classical High School, Providence City Councilman Sam Zurier is submitting a resolution which alleges that RIPTA is in violation of its agreement with PPSD.
Full Story

Reminder:Council seeks public comment on proposed regulations on educator certification; hearing scheduled for September 22

The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education is seeking public comment on amended regulations intended to provide more flexibility to school districts as well as to eliminate barriers when school districts are seeking qualified teachers for school-district positions. On June 28, the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved for public comment for the proposed draft revisions to the Board of Education Regulations governing the certification for educators in Rhode Island.   

The proposed changes would:

• eliminate the Substitute Permit and the accompanying yearly fee, which would make the process more feasible for those interested in working in districts as substitute teachers. The revenue lost would be at the expense of the General Fund, not RIDE;
• eliminate the Athletic Coach Permit, which would not lower the standards for coaches being hired by school districts. The Interscholastic League requires that coaches hold valid CPR and First Aid certification and that they complete the Foundations of Coaching and concussion courses. RIDE would require the same process for Athletic Coach Permit eligibility. This change would move the responsibility to the district, ensuring that Athletic Coaches meet the eligibility requirements set by the Interscholastic League, and this change would remove the redundancy of coaches' having to repeat these assurances to RIDE, the Interscholastic League, and the school district; and
• change the Career and Technical Certification, which would move the current one-year preliminary certificate to a six-year preliminary certificate. This change would allow the Career-Technical Education (CTE) experts and CTE professionals to transition into the field of teaching and work toward full certification over a six-year period of time, without coming to RIDE on a yearly basis. This requirement has been a barrier for many who are moving from their technical fields in to the field of education.

The proposed draft regulations are available for public inspection in person at the RIDE, 255 Westminster Street, Providence, you can request a copy by contacting at Angela.Teixeira@ride.ri.gov or 222-8435.

A public hearing on the proposed draft regulations will take place on Thursday, September 22,at 5:30 p.m., at the Shepard Building (Room 501), 80 Washington St./255 Westminster St., Providence.

Reminder: RIDE accepting comment through September 15 on Secondary School Regulations; 1 more hearing on calendar

The current draft of Secondary School Regulations, which the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education gave preliminary approval to on May 17, are now undergoing the formal process for recording public comment. Public comment will be open through September 15. All interested parties are invited to participate in the public hearings and submit written comments concerning the proposed regulations from through September 15.

You can find draft Secondary School Regulations and other supporting documents can be found at:

http://sos.ri.gov/documents/archives/regdocs/holding/DESE/Board%20of%20Education%20Secondary%20Regulations%20-%20Public%20Notice.pdf

We have scheduled the final public hearing on the proposed regulations:
•Monday (September 12), at 5:30 p.m., at the University of Rhode Island, Providence Campus, Room 501;, 80 Washington Street/255 Westminster Street
The hearing location is accessible to those with disabilities, and interpreter services for those with hearing impairment will be provided if requested 48 hours before the hearing. Requests for this service can be made in writing or by calling Sonya Barbosa, at 222- 8463 or RI Relay (800) 745-5555.

Written comments may be submitted to Sonya Barbosa, at the R.I. Department of Education, 255 Westminster Street, Providence, R.I. 02903 or at Secondary@ride.ri.gov or by fax, to 222-6178.

Summit Neighborhood Association - September 21

Please join the Summit Neighborhood Association Wednesday, September 21st from 6:30-8:00 at Summit Commons.
 
Guest speakers:
      Diana Burdett, Executive Director of PICA, a private charitable nonprofit which runs the     largest food pantry in RI, provides intensive case management for the homeless. Diana is also part of the Downtown Improvement District
      Linda Katz, co-founder and Policy Director, Economic Progress Institute
      Rabbi Alan Flam, Executive Director Helen Hudson Foundation for Homeless America
      Jeffrey Dana, City Solicitor (City of Providence) (or another representative from the city).
 
 The event is hosted by Summit Neighborhood Association.
 Neighbor Gayle Gifford will moderate, with assistance from Rep. Aaron Regunberg.

Open Government Summit

The Attorney General's 18 annual  Open Government Summit will take place on Friday, July 29, 2016, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at the Roger Williams University Law School in Bristol. For more information, click here.  Agenda
                      

  

To reserve your spot at the Summit,  

please contact us by email at agsummit@riag.ri.gov  

or by telephone at (401) 274-4400 x2101.

"Our Open Government Summit has become a signature event for public officials and the public to attend and be trained in how to comply with the State's open government laws," said AG Kilmartin.  "I believe the event's turnout is a testament to the commitment by public bodies to ensure they are in compliance, both in the letter and the spirit of the laws.  I am proud of the work this Office does to help promote accountability and transparency in the state, and hope to see you there."

Fully embracing the principle of accessible government, AG Kilmartin is again partnering with ClerkBase to stream the presentation live through the Attorney General's website here .  The live stream will commence at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the Summit. 

http://www.riag.ri.gov/

 

WPRI: Study: Low infrastructure spending makes RI an ‘outlier state’

By Ted Nesi
 Published: July 18, 2016, 5:10 pm  |  Updated: July 19, 2016, 11:10 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says Rhode Island is an “outlier” among states because it has historically spent so little on capital projects such as road and bridge repairs.

The study by Ronald Fisher and Riley Sullivan of the Boston Fed’s New England Public Policy Center concludes: “Taking all of the evidence into account, the single outlier state is Rhode Island, which is shown to have had relatively low state and local government capital expenditure by every measure.” (Study: Why Is State and Local Government Capital Spending Lower in the New England States Than in Other U.S. States? p.19)

Related story: Study: RI infrastructure spending consistently among the lowest