Welcome
Staff
Cheryl Anderson
MLL Program Administrator
Horton Building
Cranston Public Schools
1196 Park Ave
Cranston, RI 02920
Phone 401-270-7758
Fax 401-270-8364
Lynne Vendettuoli
Administrative Assistant
Audrey Romanelli
MLL Teacher & Evaluator
Evelyn Ceprano
Home/School Liaison
Rhode Island Multilingual Learners Family and Student Bill of Rights (Summarized) - RI Dept of Education
As a parent or guardian with school-aged children, you have certain rights in the United States, and under federal law, your children have the right to a free public pre-K-12 education.
You and your children have these rights regardless of immigration status, national origin, or the language that you and your children speak. Your rights are the same if you are citizens, residents, immigrants, or undocumented.
The Rhode Island Department of Education will explain three broad categories of rights: language services, access to education, and documentation and privacy.
Language Services
- You have the right to have a qualified interpreter/translator.
- You can ask the school to provide an interpreter. Some schools have parent liaisons who can do this work.
- You have the right to receive meaningful information from schools in a language you choose and understand.
- Your children have a right to receive language services if they need to learn English, and you must legally be notified about these programs.
- To get started, schools will ask you to fill out a Home Language Survey. This will help determine if your child needs to be tested to see if he or she qualifies for English language development instruction.
- You should expect to receive information about the language program in which your child will be participating, the methods of instruction used in other available programs, and information about how the programs differ.
Access to Education
- Your children have the right to equal access to all programming and services offered by the school district that are available to other students.
- Your children have the right to receive all core content instruction, which includes subjects such as Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies, at the same academic level as all other children.
- Your children have the right to fully access extracurricular activities (afterschool clubs, sports, etc.) in the school district.
- Your children have the right to support services aligned with those that the school/district provides to all students.
- MTSS is not special education but is available to support students in meeting their academic, behavioral, social, and emotional learning goals.
Documentation and Privacy
- You have the right to enroll your children in school without being asked to provide information or paperwork that may reveal your or your children’s immigration status.
- Schools and school districts can ask for immunization records and proof of age from a clinic or doctor, as well as proof of residency (such as a utility bill that reflects your current address); however, school or district staff are not allowed to require families to provide social security numbers or immigration documents such as visas, residency cards or proof of citizenship.
- Most public schools offer free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch for students who need them. You do not need a social security card to access this service.
- Schools are not allowed to share information that may reveal a student’s personal information unless permitted by law or given written permission by the student’s parents.