PROVIDENCE – R.I. Education Commissioner Angelica Infanté-Green ruled Dec. 29 that the North Kingstown School Department cannot suspend two students from in-person learning because the students attended school while their father awaited the results of his COVID-19 test.
The father’s test results came back positive, and then the children later tested positive that lead to quarantining of multiple students within the school district, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island. The students were initially barred from in-person learning for the rest of the school year, the ACLU said, but the ban was reduced to Feb. 3 after the parents appealed.
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The ALCU said the parents sought the union’s assistance to fully overturn the ban because one child has disabilities and those disabilities “reduced the efficacy of remote learning.”
RIDE Hearing Officer Anthony Cottone, who approved Infanté-Green’s ruling, said North Kingstown school officials “presented no evidence to support the notion that denying the children in-person learning was a necessary and/or effective way to send a message to adults about the need for such compliance. On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the children … might well be harmed by denying them the opportunity to engage in in-person learning. As was noted, the commissioner has emphasized that ‘educational outcomes, social emotional health and well-being of students are optimal when students can learn in-person,’ ” Cottone said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
