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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- H 6271 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002768 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT ACCESS TO INTERSCHOLASTIC |
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| 16 | 16 | | ATHLETICS, "THE VERA RILEY ACT" |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Representatives Slater, Diaz, Potter, DeSimone, and McGaw |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: April 25, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House Education |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Legislative findings. 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) Participation in interscholastic athletics provides essential educational, social, and 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | developmental benefits to students; 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) Certain students enrolled in independent, charter, or alternative schools are denied 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | access to interscholastic athletic programs solely because their school does not offer the sport in 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | question; 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) The state has a compelling interest in ensuring equitable access to public educational 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | opportunities and extracurricular programs supported by public resources; 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) The current structure of athletic governance creates unequal access, disproportionately 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | affecting students enrolled in small or non-traditional schools, particularly female students; 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (5) This act shall be known and may be cited as “The Vera Riley Act,” in recognition of a 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Rhode Island student whose exclusion from school-based athletics highlighted this systemic issue. 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | adding thereto the following chapter: 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | CHAPTER 117 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | STUDENT ACCESS TO INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS, "THE VERA RIL EY ACT" 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 16-117-1. Eligibility for interscholastic athletic participation. 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (a) Any student enrolled in a Rhode Island middle school, grades six (6) through eight (8), 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002768 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | that is a recognized non-public, charter, or alternative education institution and that does not 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | sponsor or participate in a particular interscholastic sport, shall be permitted to participate in that 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | sport at the public middle school in the school district where the student resides; provided that: 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) The student meets all applicable academic and conduct eligibility requirements; 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (2) The student’s non-sponsoring school verifies, in writing, that the sport is not offered; 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | and 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (3) The public school principal approves the participation for administrative coordination 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | purposes. 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (b) No student shall be denied access to a public school interscholastic athletic program on 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | the sole basis of their enrollment at a non-sponsoring middle school; provided that, the conditions 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | of subsection (a) of this section are satisfied. 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a public school to create, expand, 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | or alter its interscholastic athletic programs or team structures, but public schools are encouraged 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | to provide reasonable access to eligible students pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 16-117-2. Rulemaking authority. 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | The department of education, in consultation with the Rhode Island interscholastic league 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (RIIL), shall promulgate rules and guidelines consistent with the provisions of this chapter to ensure 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | timely implementation and nondiscriminatory access. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ======== |
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| 64 | 64 | | LC002768 |
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| 65 | 65 | | ======== |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | LC002768 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 69 | 69 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 70 | 70 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 71 | 71 | | OF |
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| 72 | 72 | | A N A C T |
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| 73 | 73 | | RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT ACCESS TO INTERSCHOLASTIC |
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| 74 | 74 | | ATHLETICS, "THE VERA RILEY ACT" |
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| 75 | 75 | | *** |
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| 76 | 76 | | This act requires all Rhode Island public middle schools, grades six (6) through eight (8), 1 |
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| 77 | 77 | | to allow any student from a recognized non-public, charter, or alternative education institution that 2 |
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| 78 | 78 | | does not sponsor or participate in a particular interscholastic sport, to participate in that sport in the 3 |
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| 79 | 79 | | school district where the student resides. 4 |
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| 80 | 80 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 81 | 81 | | ======== |
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| 82 | 82 | | LC002768 |
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| 83 | 83 | | ======== |
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