Department of Justice Secures Settlement with Providence Public Schools to Protect Civil Rights of Immigrant Students

Press Release

PROVIDENCE, RI - The United States has reached a settlement agreement with the Providence Public School District to resolve an investigation into the district's programs and services for new immigrant English learner students with limited or interrupted education, known in the district as "newcomers," United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha announced today.

The Providence Public School District is the largest school district in Rhode Island, serving thousands of English learner students, including hundreds of newcomers.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island received multiple complaints about civil rights violations at Providence's "Newcomer Academy," a program intended to provide accelerated learning to newcomers ages seventeen and older. A Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney's Office investigation found that Providence schools failed to provide adequate English language development instruction to over 200 students participating in the Newcomer Academy. Indeed, dozens of students at the Newcomer Academy signed a petition during the 2023-24 school year stating that they wanted to learn English at their school. The Department also found that Providence failed to staff the program with trained and qualified staff and administrators, unnecessarily segregated newcomers, and deprived them of equal opportunities to participate in specialized programs, such as special education and career and technical education.

"The Providence Public School District's failure to meet its civil rights obligations to newcomer students is unacceptable," said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha for the District of Rhode Island, "particularly coming as it does in the wake of an earlier, 2018 civil rights agreement that addressed the school district's failure to accommodate English language learners. Providence's woeful history of half measures and consistent failures to meet the critical needs of its most vulnerable students has necessitated today's action: a more closely targeted and stringent agreement focused on the newcomer program. "

"New immigrant students and families bring great promise and a wealth of strengths to school communities, but they too often face great adversity in accessing educational opportunities," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Schools far too frequently shut their doors to newcomers or divert them into segregated programs with few opportunities and inadequate services. Federal law is clear: all students, including immigrant students, have a right to meaningfully participate in their district's educational programs, and the Justice Department is committed to enforcing that right in Rhode Island and across the country."

The district cooperated with the Department during the investigation and has started to take steps to address some of the concerns identified by the Department.

Under the agreement, the district will ensure that all students in newcomer programs receive adequate instruction in the English language, and that teachers in newcomer programs are appropriately trained and qualified. In addition, the district will take steps to provide language translation and interpretation of important school information to parents of newcomers who are not fluent in English. And the district will ensure that newcomers have equal access to specialized programs, and are appropriately integrated with other English learners, and native English speakers.

The Department of Justice conducted its investigation under the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, and the Department's 2018 agreement with the district (extended in 2021) addressing all of the district's English learner services and programs. Today's settlement, which focuses on newcomers, will supersede the previous agreement.

The matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy R. Romero of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island and Trial Attorneys Ajay Saini and Laura Tayloe of the Education Opportunities Section, Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Enforcement of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the work of the division's Educational Opportunities Section is available at www.justice.gov/crt/combating-national-origin-discrimination-schools.

Members of the public can report possible civil rights violations at civilrights.justice.gov/report/ or by emailing [email protected]. Anyone in Rhode Island may also report civil rights violations directly to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/civil-rights-enforcement or 401-709-5000.

View a copy of the settlement agreement here.

View the settlement summary here.

###

Contact

Updated November 13, 2024