Rep. Mary Ann Shallcross-Smith

Maddy summaryHB 7501 allocates $100,000 in the 2026-2027 budget to support mental health and emotional well-being for K-12 students in out-of-school time (OST) programs, such as after-school and summer programs. It provides funding for staff training in trauma-informed practices, peer support groups, mental health resources, and culturally responsive activities designed by local communities. The funds will be distributed competitively through Rhode Island’s Afterschool Network to prioritize programs serving high-need youth across urban, suburban, and rural areas. This policy directly affects community-based OST programs and their staff, enabling flexible support for youth mental health needs.

Maddy summaryHB 7582 requires all public schools to conduct regular indoor air quality inspections - including HVAC system evaluations - at least once every five years. The inspections must assess environmental factors like temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), and schools with HVAC systems must install filters meeting MERV 13 standards or the highest feasible level without harming system performance. Results must be shared with school principals, boards, and the education department, while the state must submit annual reports to the legislature on progress and funding needs for school air quality improvements. This bill directly affects public school buildings and their management, aiming to create healthier learning environments through science-based air quality standards.

Maddy summaryHB 7317, the Rhode Island Early Educator Workforce Act, directs the Department of Human Services and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to collaborate on managing existing programs supporting early childhood educators. It specifically requires maintaining the Child Care WAGE$ program with at least $1 million annually to provide salary supplements for educators in licensed childcare centers and family childcare homes, while also overseeing workforce development scholarships (T.E.A.C.H.) and registered apprenticeships. The bill directly affects early educators in Rhode Island’s licensed childcare and early learning programs, who currently earn an average of $16.74 per hour - among the lowest wages in the state. These provisions aim to improve retention and compensation by aligning early educator wages with K-12 standards through existing, research-backed programs.

Mandates additional state education funding for the mental and behavioral health of students equal to 2% of the district’s total expenditures, and require those funds be used to hire staff such as school social workers, and behavioral specialists.

Mandates public schools (K-12) have one full-time certified social worker for every 250 students and allocates $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget for school districts and municipalities to hire additional social workers.

Restore the rights of school administrators and staff members, who have retired to exceed the ninety-day (90) cap on post-retirement employment and work up to one hundred eighty (180) days during a school year.

Provides that retirees in the state pension system receive cost of living adjustments compounded into the retiree’s total retirement benefits each year beginning January 1, 2026. This act would be prospective only.

Prohibits handcuffing children twelve (12) or under at initial police contact unless needed for public safety or if the child is using or threatening physical force against an officer.

Maddy summaryHB 7132 prohibits judges from imposing life without parole sentences on individuals convicted of homicide who were 21 years old or younger at the time of the offense. The bill directly affects juvenile defendants (ages 21 and under) in homicide cases by requiring alternative sentencing options, such as lengthy prison terms with parole eligibility. It changes sentencing guidelines to ensure youth offenders are not subject to irreversible life sentences. This policy shift applies specifically to homicide convictions under the state's criminal code.

Allows teachers, state and municipal employees to retire upon the earlier of reaching age sixty (60) with thirty (30) years of service or the employee's retirement eligibility date under present state statutes.