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July 17, 2025
Rhode Island recently amended its General Laws regarding “Offenses Pertaining to Schools” to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race in all public elementary and secondary schools. The prohibition applies to the schools’ employment practices, among other things.
For purposes of the amendment, “race” means and includes traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.
“Protective hairstyles” means and includes, but is not limited to, hair texture or hairstyles, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locks, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros).
The amendment was enacted and became effective on July 1, 2025.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
