Latest news with #NationalEducationAssociationofRhodeIsland
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics panel says R.I. Senate President Valarie Lawson can lead chamber despite union day job
Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson sought an opinion from the State's Ethics Commission. She got it on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, when the panel voted 7-1 that the ethics code does not prevent her from leading the chamber while also heading one of the state's teachers unions. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island's ethics code does not explicitly prevent Senate President Valarie Lawson from leading the chamber while also heading one of the state teachers unions. That's why the Rhode Island Ethics Commission saw no conflict for Lawson to continue both jobs, affirming the recommendation of its staff in a 7-1 vote Tuesday. The six-page advisory opinion comes in response to a May 23 request by Lawson. Since she was elected Senate president on April 29, Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, has been dogged by doubts over potential conflicts between the legislative power position and her day job as president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island. Senate President Valarie Lawson seeks opinion on ethical conflicts with teachers union job Lawson attended the meeting with her attorney, Nicole Benjamin of Adler Pollock & Sheehan, but did not speak. In a subsequent emailed statement Tuesday, Lawson described the ethics panel's decision as confirmation of what she has previously insisted — that she can hold both positions. 'It helps to distinguish between a vague notion of a perceived, general conflict and an actual, specific conflict requiring recusal under the Code of Ethics,' Lawson said of the opinion. 'Further, it ensures that one does not have to be retired or independently wealthy to serve in this role. This decision supports the operation of our legislative body as the framers intended: a part-time, citizen legislature comprised of a diverse membership from all walks of life, who can draw from their varied experiences to best serve the public.' All members of the Rhode Island General Assembly, including those in leadership positions, earn $19,817 a year. Lawson also earned a $167,869 salary as teachers union vice president in 2022, the most recent data available based on Internal Revenue Service filings from the National Education Association of Rhode Island. She was elected union president in 2023, after more than 30 years teaching in East Providence Public Schools. But it's probably too soon for Lawson to take a victory lap. The ethics opinion offers several caveats, noting that its recommendation cannot be tailored to any specific legislation, since Lawson's request did not reference any bills being considered or discussed. If and when the Senate considers any policy or funding changes that could financially benefit Lawson, her family, or her fellow teachers union members and administrators, she must recuse herself, the opinion states. Recusal is also required on any discussions or votes in which NEARI is involved in lobbying or through verbal or written testimony. Lawson had previously pledged in her May 23 letter to step aside when potential conflicts arise, a promise she followed through on when the Senate took up two labor-backed bills on June 4. The legislation from which Lawson abstained had proposed extending organizing rights to college graduate students and bolstering information-sharing between collective bargaining units and their members' employers. John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, expects the conflicts to continue to crop up given the wide scope of education and labor bills still pending before the chamber this year — and in future sessions. 'Our comments have never been that it's illegal to hold both positions,' Marion said in an interview after the meeting. 'It's just that it's perilous to hold both positions because it's difficult to manage the conflicts.' Lawson is no stranger to the overlap between legislative office and teachers union priorities. Indeed, her ascension through the ranks of the Senate, starting as majority whip in 2023, and in 2024, as majority leader, came months into her role as president of the 12,000-member state teachers union. Last year, she sought ethics advice on potential conflicts between her teachers union job and proposed pension changes under consideration by lawmakers; the commission gave her the go-ahead to vote on the bills in question, invoking the class exception of the state ethics code, which lets elected officials participate in discussions or decisions that benefit themselves within the context of a larger group of people. But the Senate president has outsized influence, setting the daily calendars for the upper chamber, participating as an ex-officio member on every Senate committee, and most importantly, leading behind-the-scenes negotiations to determine which pieces of legislation advance to a vote. Ethics Commissioner Hugo Ricci Jr., who cast the only vote against the opinion Tuesday, cited concerns with Lawson's new 'undeniable power,' as Senate president. Lawson's predecessor, the late Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, left his own union job when he was elected to the president position, Ricci noted. 'What I am trying to say is, could mere recusal be sufficient?' Ricci asked. 'She is in a class of one. She is not a general member of the Senate anymore. She is president of the Senate. With that comes mass powers.' Ricci's line of questioning set off a brief but testy exchange with fellow commissioners, who insisted that they were limited to Lawson's specific request, as well as state ethics regulations. 'We must accept the good faith of a recusal until a complaint is filed,' Commission Chairman Lauren Jones said. 'If the president is saying, for the record, as she has in her application, that she will appropriately recuse herself when matters come before her, we have to take that.' Commissioner Frank Cenerini agreed, invoking a baseball analogy. 'We have all been appointed by the governor, yet we have no problems reviewing complaints against the person who appointed us,' Cenerini said of the nine-member panel. 'It comes down to an issue of character. You've got to call the balls and strikes as you see them. Ricci proposed delaying a decision to give ethics staff more time to review the potential conflict, including considering what other states have done in similar situations. But his motion failed with no secondary support. Marion, however, acknowledged Ricci's concerns in a later interview. The staff report recommending Lawson could preside over the Senate while keeping her union job was 'somewhat naive' in its consideration of the unique powers bestowed upon the top chamber leader, he said. 'It talked about how she sets the consent calendar, but not the floor calendar,' Marion said. 'It mentioned she is not on any one committee but failed to say she can participate on any committee.' Marion continued, 'I think she'll be back before the commission on specific bills and on actions that she takes that they didn't cover.' Ethics Commissioner Matthew Strauss was absent from the meeting Tuesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘The math doesn't work': Congressional, state leaders brace for potential federal school aid cuts
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, center back, and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, left, join Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green as she prepares to answer a reporter's questions during a press conference at the National Education Association of Rhode Island headquarters in Cranston on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) When the U.S. Secretary of Education visited Rhode Island last February, state education Commissioner Angèlica Infante-Green pleaded for more federal support. Now Infante-Green is bracing for the possibility of losing some or all of the federal dollars that comprise 15% of the state's education budget. That's what she claims could happen as U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon nears the confirmation finish line with profound changes in mind for America's education agency. 'Please don't mess with the students in Rhode Island. We're gonna be here waiting for you,' Infante-Green said at a press conference Monday morning, addressing the Trump administration. But Infante-Green told reporters she was also unsure what exactly might be axed if President Donald Trump's wish to abolish the Department of Education comes true. 'We don't know,' the commissioner said. 'There's a lot of chaos and confusion.' Whatever the extent of havoc that may come, Infante-Green said the state relies on about $275 million from the federal government for school-related funding. Not all that money comes from Department of Education grants. School lunch subsidies, for instance, are handled by the nation's agriculture department. In Gov. Dan McKee's proposed fiscal 2026 budget, federal dollars account for about $256 million in education money. Half of Rhode Island's congressional delegation hosted Infante-Green Monday at the National Education Association of Rhode Island headquarters in Cranston, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed joined state education leaders and teacher's union officials in an event that seemed intended to stay ahead of the narrative of uncertainty coming out of Washington, D.C. 'The public education system in Rhode Island would be crippled,' Magaziner said of possible slashing to federal school spending spearheaded by 'President Trump and his co-President Elon Musk.' 'It would be nice if Musk and Trump went through the Department of Education and analyzed all their programs based on cost and benefit,' Reed said. 'They're not doing that. This is ideological. It's just, 'Let's get rid of it.'' Infante-Green cited Title I grants and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants for special education students as funds possibly vulnerable to attack. The state receives about $65 million annually for Title I and $60 million for IDEA grants, the commissioner said. 'As a mother of a child who is autistic, this is real,' she told reporters. 'My son would not have made the progress that he has made today if it wouldn't have been for those supports and the teachers and all the services that he has gotten.' Magaziner added later that Title I subsidizes the salary of 'a large number of public school teachers' in the state. Paige Parks, the executive director of child policy outfit Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, explained how many kids might be affected by potential cuts to Title I and IDEA: About 44% of public school kids in the state were considered low-income in 2023, and that same year about 16% of the public school student body statewide received special education services. 'Let me please be clear: We will work with any policy maker that works for the betterment of children and families,' Parks said. 'And my remarks this morning are not about parties. It's not about political leanings. This is about Rhode Island's children and how the impact of federal investments makes a huge difference in their educational opportunities.' Trump recently deemed February 2025 as 'Career and Technical Education Month.' But Rhode Island Commissioner of Postsecondary Education Shannon Gilkey was worried about funding for post-high school learning. 'We have to protect that intimate relationship with the federal government,' Gilkey said, pointing out that a Pell Grant had helped subsidize his own college education. 'Sometimes you don't know how much you rely on something if you don't have it anymore.' The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday on possible funding cuts. It would be nice if Musk and Trump went through the Department of Education and analyzed all their programs based on cost and benefit. They're not doing that. This is ideological. It's just, 'Let's get rid of it.' – U.S. Sen. Jack Reed Trump said last Wednesday that he would like to abolish the department entirely the via an executive order, although the maneuver would need a more than presidential muscle to succeed: Congress would still need to approve the elimination, and Trump has stated he would 'have to work with the teachers' union because the teachers' union is the only one that's opposed to it.' Meanwhile, Craig Trainor, the Department of Education's Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, wrote in a Feb. 14 letter to education departments in every state that federal funding would be contingent on states' willingness to dissolve DEI programs and initiatives. The Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tweeted the same day that it had cancelled $373 million worth of federal contracts for 'DEI training grants.' The potential loss of funds follows the expiration of COVID relief money, which all needed to be allocated by the end of 2024 — and on which states and municipalities based a big chunk of their school budgets in recent years. Rhode Island enjoyed a torrent of federal funding in the pandemic era, due to initiatives like the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which began during Trump's first term and continued under former President Joe Biden. In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Rhode Island's education budget included $454 million and $495 million in federal money, respectively. Some of the programs singled out by Infante-Green actually predate the education department. Title I was part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed in 1965, and IDEA became law in 1975. The education department opened in 1980 and in 2024 had the third-largest discretionary budget, over $200 billion, among the federal cabinet-level agencies. It's also the smallest of the cabinet-level entities, with around 4,000 employees under its purview last year. At her Feb. 13 confirmation hearing, McMahon told U.S. senators the IDEA and Title I grants would not suffer under her leadership, nor would Pell Grants. 'Title I programs … will continue to be appropriated through Congress,' she said. 'IDEA is the same, but might it be better served in a different agency? I'm not sure.' But Reed suggested Monday that things could change after McMahon takes the helm. Reed called McMahon's promises 'a confirmation conversion' — of which the next step, he said, is for an appointee to 'suddenly show up and disavow everything you said before.' Alternatively, Reed offered, McMahon was not privy to the extent of her boss' plans for the department. Magaziner pointed again to a House budget resolution that recently passed a committee vote. Although far from set in stone, Magaziner thinks the budget could end up with 'a $60 billion cut to the Department of Education,' he said. 'You cannot get to $60 billion in that one agency without touching programs that directly impact students through things like Title I and IDEA. The math doesn't work.' So what can the Democratic minority in the nation's capital do? Magaziner conceded that Monday's event was an attempt to mold a narrative. 'The public opinion bucket is obviously what we're doing today, and I think in some ways, that's the most powerful tool that we have at our disposal, because we need our Republican colleagues to feel the heat and to hear from their constituents,' he said. Asked by reporters if RIDE will ignore the challenge to ditch DEI initiatives by the end of February, Infante-Green smirked and said, 'I didn't say I was going to ignore anything.' 'It's clear to me that there's a lack of understanding of what DEI is,' she added. 'It goes into different areas that I think people overlook that are really essential to our community, our kids, our educators, what we do every single day.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
