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3/9/2026
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MEDIA ADVISORY: House Education Committee to hear variety of bills including those related to bullying, soft-shelled helmets
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STATE HOUSE — The House Education Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow to hear testimony on several bills, including those related to bullying and soft-shelled helmets.
The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday, March9, at the rise of the House (about 5 p.m.) in Room 135 on the first floor of the State House.
The committee will hear testimony on several pieces of legislation, including:
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(2026-H 7114) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Mia Ackerman (D-Dist. 45, Cumberland, Lincoln), would permit special community service to be imposed because of bullying based on religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
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(2026-H 7115) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston), would mandate the use of a soft-shell helmet cover device that adds a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of a traditional football helmet, for students participating in Rhode Island Interscholastic League football.
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(2026-H 7341) — this bill, introduced by Representative McNamara, would provide for better communication between sending and receiving districts regarding students receiving career and technical education or pathways education.
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(2026-H 7527) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Julie Casimiro (D-Dist. 31, North Kingstown, Exeter), would require that student mentors in public schools be certified support educators, ensuring mentors have professional training, established student relationships, and access to skills and information needed to support student success.
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(2026-H 7417) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Rebecca Kislak, (D-Dist. 4, Providence), would create the Save Rhode Island School Libraries Act..
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(2026-H 7415) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Mary Duffy Messier (D-Dist. 62, Pawtucket), would bar the Council from granting approval to create or expand a charter school beginning operations in 26-27 school year and bars the state from approving or appropriating funds to a new charter school not approved before July 1, 2025.
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(2026-H 7525) — this bill, introduced by House Minority Whip David J. Place (R-Dist. 47, Burrillville, Glocester), would allow charter schools to engage in nontraditional approaches to learning.
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(2026-H 7615) — this bill, introduced by Representative Place, would permit local communities to adopt an all-charter public school model for public education upon an affirmative vote of the local municipality’s council and school committee, and an affirmative vote at a special or general election.
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(2026-H 7730) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Jennifer A. Stewart (D-Dist. 59, Pawtucket), would direct the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide a two-year pilot program that coordinates a national cultural exchange program for students of this state.
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(2026-H 7901) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Jacquelyn Baginski (D-Dist. 17, Cranston), would require all school districts to designate a certified athletic trainer at each high school within its district..
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(2026-H 7902) — this bill, introduced by Representative Baginski, would require school districts to organize concussion oversight teams, develop removal-from-play, return-to-play, and return-to-learn protocols, and develop a concussion brochure.
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(2026-H 7903) — this bill, introduced by Rep. Stephen M. Casey (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket), would require schools to implement a plan to provide academic accommodation for a student who has been diagnosed with a concussion or other brain injury.
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(2026-H 7906) — this bill, introduced by Representative Casey, would require all certified independent or district charter schools upon application for a renewal of said charter or an application for a new charter school to provide a union neutrality clause in the charter.
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(2026-H 8131) — this bill, introduced by Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70, Tiverton), would create a 13-member joint commission to study Rhode Island’s method of funding charter schools, and would report back to the Governor and the General Assembly by April 1, 2027.
The House Education Committee is chaired by Representative McNamara. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.
For more information, contact:
Daniel Trafford, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-1922
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