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6/8/2026
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House budget includes investment in multilingual education proposed by Rep. Morales
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STATE HOUSE — Legislation sponsored by Rep. David Morales to invest in multilingual education was included in the amended budget bill approved by a vote of the full House of Representatives Friday, June 5.
“I am proud to stand with Speaker Blazejewski and my colleagues in the House to invest in a future where public education reflects the needs of all our communities across Rhode Island,” said Representative Morales (D-Dist. 7, Providence). “There is a growing demand for multilingual educators: 16% of our students are multilingual learners yet only 1% of educators are certified in bilingual and dual language education. We already had the talent we needed living in Rhode Island to meet this demand, now we have a budget that recognizes the importance of bilingual education and invests accordingly.”
Representative Morales sponsored the Support and Access to Bilingual Education (SABE) Act (2026-H 7389) to establish a bilingual education support fund within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support dual language education programs in schools. The amended budget (2026-H 7127Aaa) includes Rep. Morales’ bill and allocates $750,000 to the support these programs.
Sen. Mark McKenney (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) sponsored the companion bill (2026-S 2555) in the Senate.
The fund will be used to help implement dual language programs in public schools and to expand bilingual, dual language and world language teaching certifications for teachers through scholarships to cover certification costs for teachers in areas of high need.
“This is an important first step towards a sustainable solution. There is no pathway to a multilingual Rhode Island without a strong and sustainable bilingual dual language and world language teacher pipeline. We are grateful to Representative Morales and Speaker Blazejewski for their commitment to support our multilingual learners,” said Erin L. Papa, executive director of the Coalition for a Multilingual Rhode Island.
Rhode Island had the fastest growth of multilingual learners in the nation between 2011 and 2021 and had the sixth highest percentage of multilingual learners among U.S. states as of 2021. Some communities have experienced significantly higher increases: the Newport school districts reported a 327% increase in multilingual learners over the last decade.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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