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Rhode Island Right to a Public Education Amendment (2026)
| Rhode Island Right to a Public Education Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Constitutional rights and Public education governance | |
| Status Proposed | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Rhode Island Right to a Public Education Amendment may appear on the ballot in Rhode Island as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
The amendment would create a constitutional right to public education. It would require the general assembly and the state of Rhode Island to "guarantee an equitable, adequate and meaningful education for each child."[1] The amendment would also make the right to public education and the state's duty to promote public libraries enforceable by law, meaning anyone could sue if they are injured due to the state's noncompliance with the duty to provide public education and libraries. It would also remove the requirement for a perpetual school fund, which currently holds the permanent funds and investments for the support of public schools.
Text of the measure
Full text
The full text of the constitutional amendment is available here.
Path to the ballot
Amending the Rhode Island Constitution
- See also: Amending the Rhode Island Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Rhode Island State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 38 votes in the Rhode Island House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Rhode Island State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 177
State Sen. Jonathon Acosta (D-16) introduced the constitutional amendment to the Rhode Island General Assembly as SJR 177 on February 7, 2025. Below is a timeline of the amendment in the legislature:[2]
- April 2, 2025: The Senate Education Committee filed a favorable report for SJR 177, advancing the bill to the full Rhode Island Senate.
- April 8, 2025: The state Senate approved the amendment 35-0, with three senators absent or not voting.
| Votes Required to Pass: 38 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 35 | 0 | 3 |
| Total % | 92.1% | 0.0% | 7.9% |
| Democratic (D) | 32 | 0 | 2 |
| Republican (R) | 3 | 0 | 1 |
How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Rhode Island
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Rhode Island.
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Rhode Island Legislature, "Senate Resolution No. 177 Text," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ Rhode Island Legislature, "Senate Resolution No. 177," accessed May 29, 2025 (Search term Bills: 177)
- ↑ Rhode Island Department of State, "Election Day Voting Hours," accessed September 24, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Rhode Island Department of State, "Register to Vote," accessed April 18, 2023
- ↑ Providence Journal, “Raimondo signs automatic voter registration bill into law,” August 1, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
