Rhode Island Parents of Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Every Blind and visually impaired child deserves access to quality vision education services
Why We Care
The Rhode Island Parents of Blind and Visually Impaired Children (RIPBVIC) is an organization focused on ensuring our children receive the quality education they deserve.
Every blind and visually impaired child deserves access to quality vision education services. The Rhode Island Vision Education and Services Program (RIVESP) was enacted into law in 2006, in order to bring together all of the previously disjointed education vision services under one ‘roof’. According to the law (16-26.1), the RI Department of Education (RIDE) is charged with the supervision, administration and control of RIVESP; however RIDE’s years of mismanagement have resulted in ZERO funding from the state budget since 2017. Now, only a fraction of the program is being funded by federal IDEA funds.
The mismanagement does not end with RIDE’s refusal to fund or find funding for the program. For years, RIDE has managed RIVESP entirely by themselves instead of with the Advisory Board as required by law. When they recently brought back the Advisory Board, they ignored open meetings laws by not posting agendas or minutes and by not allowing the public to attend. Annual reports containing the state and condition of the program as well as other financial information required by law to be submitted each year to the general assembly by RIDE, appear to have not been submitted.
Now RIDE has decided to pull back the last bit of federal funding for the program, and they have decided not to renew the contract with the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College. Instead they are attempting to illegally privatize RIVESP with “vendors” on a Master Price Agreement (MPA), and they currently have no plan for how to distribute any funding for RIVESP.
This action by RIDE has resulted in the layoffs of all the highly trained Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVls) and Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialists (COMS)
from the Sherlock Center who work in the majority of the school districts in the state. This will prevent students across the state from receiving these necessary services.
Due to years of neglect and bad decisions regarding RIVESP funding, RIDE has put the program in grave danger. We must act now to save RIVESP so that every blind and visually impaired child in Rhode Island, now and in the future, can get what they need to be successful!
What We DEMAND
01.
Quality of Services and Equity for the Blind and Visually Impaired Students
02.
Fair Funding and Equity in our State Budget
03.
Transparency and Communication from RIDE to all Stakeholders
04.
Funding of Rhode Island Vision Education Services Program - It's the Law!
The Solution Comes Through Funding!
Initial research suggests a $2 to $2.5 million line item would fully fund RIVESP.
We are asking for a line item in the state budget so that RIVESP can operate as originally intended. As a program that is required under state law, it should be funded by the state.
This is affordable, necessary, and THE LAW! Please help us get this done.
The Facts
RIDE Says: They can no longer use a sole source contract. They must use an MPA. Sherlock Center is more than welcome to and expected to bid to be on the MPA.
This is not about sole source contracts or MPAs. The law clearly states that RIDE must fund RIVESP with an adopted budget in collaboration with the Board of Education. The law also says the Advisory Board should weigh in on the budget. The contract simply allows RIC, a post-secondary institution, to pay the salaries of teachers whom they employ as part of the RIDE agreement with Sherlock/RIC to house RIVESP. RIDE continues to push for an MPA, which the Division of Purchases says should be used to purchase items like rock salt or office supplies.
RIDE Says: They are being transparent and have nothing to hide.
For years, RIDE has not operated the program with an Advisory Board as required by law. They cannot provide any RIVESP Annual Reports that are required by law to be submitted to the general assembly. After reconvening the Advisory Board less than a year ago, meetings have been held in secret with no published agendas or minutes. There seems to be a lot RIDE is hiding.
RIDE Says: Services will not be interrupted.
RIDE has yet to release a plan to distribute the federal IDEA money across all districts. As a result of their actions, 13 TVls and COMS are currently without a job as of July 1st, 2021. This will cause a scramble for services and there will be no possible way for any vendor to fill the void.
RIDE Says: It’s all about “choice,” and it’s what is best for our “state.”
RIDE mentions nothing about this being good for our CHILDREN. RIVESP was created in order to streamline services so they were no longer disjointed and ineffective. In 2005, a Special House Commission to Promote and Develop a Comprehensive System of Education for Visually Impaired Children provided their Final Report which was used to write the law that formed RIVESP. According to the law, this Final Report is to be used by the RIVESP Advisory Board as a guiding document to advise policy. If it’s about “choice” and what’s best for our “state”, then we CHOOSE to do what’s best for our STATE (AND OUR CHILDREN!) by following the law!
Media Coverage
March 2, 2021
Teachers Who Serve Vision Impaired Students Laid Off; State Says Services Won’t Be Disrupted
March 9, 2021
