Rhode Island House Bill H7757

Rhode Island 2022 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/2/22
• Refer: 3/2/22

Caption

Arianna's Speech Fluency Act

Impact

The bill requires the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop and disseminate resources for teacher training, leveraging web-based technology to evaluate and enhance the professional development system. It mandates that the department provide best-practice methods for addressing speech fluency issues and ensures that teachers and school administrators have access to materials that support their professional awareness in this area. Additionally, an annual appropriation of at least $50,000 is mandated to support the training of educators under the specified teaching methods.

Summary

House Bill H7757, known as the 'Arianna's Speech Fluency Act', was introduced to enhance the education of children with speech fluency issues in Rhode Island. Named after a child who experiences speech fluency challenges, the bill outlines the need for a workforce that is capable of reading at grade level while highlighting the importance of language-based, multisensory instructional methods, particularly the Orton-Gillingham program. The objective is to address deficiencies within the educational system regarding teaching practices for students with speech fluency pathologies.

Contention

One notable contention surrounding H7757 is the amount of funding allocated for teacher training, as well as the potential resource limitations faced by individual school districts in accessing these training programs. Stakeholders may express differing opinions on the adequacy of the funding level and whether it sufficiently addresses the needs of all educators looking to enhance their skills in teaching students with speech fluency issues. Additionally, there may be debates regarding the obligation of school principals to engage in specific training as dictated by the act.