House Finance Keeps Nearly 400 Parents Waiting to Testify for Hours on Charter Moratorium
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
The Rhode Island House Finance committee kept hundreds of parents who wanted to testify against charter school moratorium legislation waiting for hours on Tuesday night, and ultimately told them they could not testify until a week from Wednesday.
The moratorium legislation is proposed in the House by Rep. Bill O'Brien. The Senate passed a similar version of the bill -- legislation that would strip away over 5,800 new public charter seats for the fall.
Many of the parents who signed up to testify were organized by a group of mothers who formed the group Stop the Wait RI to support the expansion of publicly funded charter school opportunities.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"About 300 parents took time out of their day to stay at home, sit by the phone and wait for a call to advocate for their kids - a call that never came - that in itself was disgraceful," said Janie Seguí Rodríguez, chair of the board of Stop the Wait RI.
"We are calling on Chairman [Marvin] Abney to bring order to the next hearing. The committee needs to hear our stories and they need to see our faces. We are calling on Chairman Abney to provide a mechanism for us to testify via video just like Governor Mckee did this evening. Denying Black and Latino parents the ability to be heard and the ability to be seen is not a good look for the General Assembly," said Seguí Rodríguez.
McKee Testifies Against Moratorium
Governor Dan McKee took the unprecedented step to testify before the committee in opposition of the charter school moratorium telling the committee, "New schools that have already secured locations, hired staff, and committed to parents will have the rug pulled out from under them if this bill is passed."
"A moratorium on public charter schools is not a comprehensive plan that will fix our public education system," said McKee.
“My ask of the committee today is this: Don’t act on this bill. Stop the Wait..we need our state's leaders to be all-in...all-in on supporting our students," he added.
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green voiced strong opposition to the moratorium.
She testified, "I encourage you to stand up for parents...This is only 6% of the seats [in the state]."
Long-time education leader Jo Eva Gaines who has served on the board of education intermittently for over 35 years, testified, "The success [of charter schools] is staring us in the face — they cannot be denied."
"Parents should not be told to wait. We need action, a moratorium is in action," added Gaines.
Chairman of the House Finance Committee Abney cut off the testimony of both Infante-Green and Gaines while they were speaking.
Related Articles
- New Poll: Majority of Rhode Islanders Support Expansion of Charter Schools
- Senate Leadership Push Bill to Limit RI’s Charter Schools, Parents Blocked From Speaking for 2 Hours
- Frustrated Parents Form Advocacy Group to Combat Anti-Charter School Legislation
- Boston-Based Charter School Group Looks to Open Mayoral Academy in RI
- RI League of Charter Schools’ Oliveira: “We Need Consistency and Commitment to Long-Term System”
- LIVE: RI Charter Schools’ Oliveira on Battling for Level Playing Field in 2018
- RI League of Charter Schools to Host Annual Fair at Times2 Academy in Providence
- RI’s Charter Schools Expansion Increases Funding for Public School Students, Says Top Legal Expert
- Wall Street Journal Charges That Elorza is “Holding the Children and Charter Schools Hostage”
- Beacon Charter School to Honor 3 at Annual Gala & Silent Auction
- A ‘Pause’ is Needed in Charter School Expansion - Rep Amore
- Oliveira Discusses Charter School Issues Including the Beacon Controversy on LIVE