Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Senate passes Acosta’s bill that extends teacher certifications

 

            STATE HOUSE – The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Jonathon Acosta that would extend teacher certifications to address the significant teacher shortage plaguing Rhode Island.

            “Anyone with children in school knows that Rhode Island is facing a significant and critical teacher shortage in the state’s classrooms.  This serious and unfortunate situation then affects our children’s learning and development, setting our kids further back from the educational and social progress they should be attaining when attending school.  By allowing our teachers to have more flexibility in how they are certified, it will enhance the number of high-quality and certified teachers in our children’s classrooms, benefitting the students and the community,” said Senator Acosta (D-Dist. 16, Central Falls, Pawtucket).

            The legislation (2024-S 2743) would extend teacher certifications without fee or penalty for three or five years for teachers who hold certifications as of July 1, 2024, and would permit a teacher who has three years of certified teaching experience to acquire an additional certification through examination or content coursework.

            The bill would also direct the Department of Elementary and Secondary education to revise its regulations pertaining to certification to create multiple pathways to obtain teacher and administrator certification.

            The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration where Rep. Joshua J. Giraldo (D-Dist. 56, Central Falls) has introduced the legislation (2024-H 7906).

 

 

           

 

A key report shows wholesale inflation slowed last month. The July Producer Price Index shows a rise of zero-point-one percent. The PPI measures prices that businesses receive for goods and services. Economists had been expecting a slightly higher increase, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.        Over one-point-three million people tuned into Elon Musk's conversation with former President Trump on X last night. Some technical issues delayed the conversation, but the pair still spoke for over two hours. They discussed the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania, immigration, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the threat of global warming, and more.        Voters are heading to the polls for primary elections in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin today. In Minnesota, progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar will defend her seat against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. The contest comes after two other members of the so-called progressive "Squad," Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, lost their Democratic primaries this cycle.        Tropical Storm Ernesto isn't expected to hit the U.S. mainland as it heads up the Atlantic Ocean. Current forecasts show the storm will bring heavy rain and flooding to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands today. The National Hurricane Center says Ernesto will then head northward and into the Atlantic.        A former Colorado clerk is facing up to 22 years in prison for election tampering. Tina Peters was convicted yesterday and will be sentenced in October. Prosecutors argued she let an unauthorized person access Mesa County's voting equipment in 2021 and make a copy of hard drives, as well as pictures of passwords, and then tried to cover it up.        U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles will not have her appeal heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee said it would take away her bronze medal because of a scoring error. Monday, USA Gymnastics said in a statement that it was notified that CAS rules don't allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered.        

Old News Archives