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7/1/2021
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OP-ED: Educating our most vulnerable children was a priority this session
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 As an educator in the Providence Public School District, I see the successes and failures of our students every day and I am frequently heartbroken that some of our most vulnerable students, particularly English-learning students, too often fall through the cracks.
Thankfully, the General Assembly this session agreed that there was more to be done to support these vulnerable students and they demonstrated their commitment to this noble cause by passing two bills that I introduced to help these students succeed in their educational careers.
The first bill that I introduced and became law will streamline the English as a second language (ESL) and/or English language learner (ELL) teaching certification process. As the demographics in our public schools continue to change, most particularly in our urban core communities, we have found that the school departments simply do not have enough of their teachers certified in ESL and ELL instruction. This is an extreme disservice to our children who are in desperate need of these crucial educational services. By streamlining the certification process, more of our teachers will possess these credentials, allowing them to provide the support and instruction that so many of our children need to succeed later in life.
The second piece of legislation that will help our vulnerable children will allow students unable to legally complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to participate in the RI Promise Scholarship program. If a student has the initiative to continue their education past high school, we should be supportive of their efforts to better themselves and their communities. The RI Promise program, which the legislature made permanent this year, has opened up numerous doors for our students who want to achieve a degree but do not have the financial means to do so. I feel that it is only fair to make this scholarship accessible to all of our students who wish to take the next step in their education.
Both of these bills will follow our most vulnerable students throughout their educational experience, providing the support that these students need in order to thrive later in their lives. I thank Speaker Joe Shekarchi and my colleagues in the House of Representatives, as well as Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and my fellow legislators in the Senate, for agreeing that these students need our help and that they deserve an equal shot at a quality education that so many others enjoy throughout the state.
The future of our children is explicitly tied to the future success of our state and as we all know, a quality education is the only possible path for us all to prosper.
Rep. Nathan W. Biah, a Democrat, represents District 3 in Providence. He is the principal at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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