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3/2/2026
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Chairman DiPalma releases parent survey to support students after extended absences
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Updated release with Spanish and Portuguese survey links
STATE HOUSE – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma and Dr. Deanna Conley, owner of PROSPER Special Education Advocacy Services, have created a parental survey to help improve school supports for students who have experienced extended absences from school.
The survey can be found here:
“Every child deserves a quality education, and this fact is particularly important for children experiencing significant disruptions in their attendance at school. The purpose of this survey is to better support students who are vulnerable to falling behind in their studies and to gather the facts and data that will lead to better educational outcomes for these students,” said Chairman DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Little Compton, Newport, Tiverton). “I urge every parent whose child has experienced an extended absence to take part in this survey so that we and local school departments can better understand the underlying issues that are affecting your child’s education and what can be done to remedy the situation.”
“Local districts are currently responsible for continuing to educate their students who experience extended absences from school due to documented medical or mental health needs; however, they are facing a resource crisis and struggle to staff these types of flexible and often short-term instructor positions,” said Dr. Conley. “As a result, some of our most vulnerable students across the state are encountering a lapse in their education. This survey is working to document the number of students with extended absences who have had difficulty accessing their education. This survey also aims to hear and learn from caregivers regarding the barriers they have met when trying to secure their child's academic and related services. The data from this survey will play a vital role in establishing the need for the development of future policy and programs to better support both districts and families as they navigate these periods of extended absences from school.”
The survey was created to help understand how to better support students who experienced an extended absence from school of 10 or more consecutive days during the 2024-2025 school year due to medical needs and/or social emotional needs. The survey is not for students who were absent due to vacations.
Parent responses are confidential and will only be used to improve school supports for students, unless the parent chooses to be contacted at the close of the survey. If parents have multiple affected children, separate surveys for each child are asked to be completed. The survey should take approximately five minutes to complete.
The data is being collected by Chairman DiPalma and Dr. Conley to help inform future education policy decisions. The survey is not affiliated with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) or any local school districts. Survey results will be compiled and made available for public review in the spring.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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