Education Commissioner Statement on Providence Schools Agenda Item

Published on Friday, July 19, 2019

State K-12 Education Council to Consider Action at Its July 23 Meeting

PROVIDENCE, RI – Angélica Infante-Green, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, has released the following statement after the posting of an agenda item regarding the Providence Public School District:

“Today marks the start of a new era for the Providence schools. I am making a clear recommendation to the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education to grant me the authority to take strong action to fundamentally transform a broken Providence Public School District, for its consideration next Tuesday.”

“Abysmal assessment results, the report by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, and the testimony of hundreds of people who waited for hours to speak at our nine public forums make it crystal clear: It is time for drastic action. The agenda item we have developed outlines the start of that action. I will spare no effort to collaborate with partners who share my singular focus: delivering a world-class education to the students who attend Providence schools.”

The Council will consider the agenda item, which you can access through the posted agenda (click on Enclosure 5b), at its July 23 meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Paff Auditorium at 255 Westminster St. in Providence. The agenda item reads:

The Crowley Act, Rhode Island General Law § 16-7.1-5, authorizes the Rhode Island Department of Education (“RIDE”) to take control over failing schools and school districts, and the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education (the “Council”) to reconstitute schools within the district. According to the Crowley Act, RIDE shall exercise progressive levels of control “over the school and/or district budget, program, and/or personnel.” The Council’s reconstitution responsibilities “may range from restructuring the school’s governance, budget, program, personnel, and/or may include decisions regarding the continued operation of the school.”

Considering, among other things, RIDE’s longstanding adoption of progressive support and intervention strategies, RIDE’s longstanding support and intervention in the Providence Public School District, the most recent Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy report, and the information obtained from parents, students, educators, and concerned citizens at the recently conducted community forums, I recommend that R.I. Gen. Laws Section 16-7.1-5 be applied to the Providence Public School District to effectuate its purpose and to adequately address the needs of Providence students and families.

Consistent with the authority of the Council to delegate responsibilities to the Commissioner, as It has done in the past, and to most efficiently and effectively carry out the Council’s authority here under the Crowley Act, I am recommending that the Council, as principal, delegate to me, as its agent, its power and authority to take actions consistent with, and in furtherance of, RIDE’s intervention in and support of the Providence Public School District.

RECOMMENDATION: THAT, the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, pursuant to its powers under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-60-6 and, specifically, its power to assign the Commissioner certain duties, delegate to the Commissioner the Council’s power and authority to take actions consistent with, and in furtherance of, RIDE’s intervention in and support of the Providence Public School District, which would include, but not be limited to, assuming control of the District, the reconstitution of the Providence Public Schools and any other power (at law and in equity) available to the Council as may be authorized by law and as may be determined to be necessary and appropriate by the Commissioner.

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