Newcomer Academy, located on Fricker Street in Providence, opened in 2023. Federal investigators found the school provided inadequate English language instruction to over 200 students at the school in violation of their civil rights. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
The Providence Public School District (PPSD) and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement agreement that resolves an investigation into the district’s language instruction services for new immigrant English learners.
Last May, federal investigators opened a probe to monitor compliance with a 2018 consent decree outlining steps to protect the civil rights of multilingual students across the district. The new settlement announced Wednesday focused on offerings at the Newcomer Academy, a high school that opened in 2023 as a standalone school inside the Providence Career & Technical Academy — with additional classrooms at Central High School.
DOJ investigators found that newcomer students, who are over age 17 with at least two years of limited or interrupted formal education, were almost completely separated from their English-speaking peers.
Investigators found the district provided inadequate English language instruction to over 200 students at the school, which violates the federal Equal Educational Opportunities Act along with the terms of the consent decree that included hiring enough qualified teachers and offering two periods of English language development.
“The Providence Public School District’s failure to meet its civil rights obligations to newcomer students is unacceptable,” Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in a statement Wednesday. “Providence’s woeful history of half measures and consistent failures to meet the critical needs of its most vulnerable students has necessitated today’s action: a more closely targeted and stringent agreement focused on the newcomer program.”
According to the investigation, Newcomer Academy staff rarely incorporated English language development into their classes.
“Some teachers provided instruction almost entirely in Spanish, while others instructed students to repeat or copy English phrases or language without ensuring students understood their meaning,” the DOJ’s investigation report states.
The investigation report also referenced a petition signed by roughly 50 students, who asked — in Spanish — for more English-language classes. A copy of the petition was not made public.
Providence’s woeful history of half measures and consistent failures to meet the critical needs of its most vulnerable students has necessitated today’s action.
– Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha
The new settlement mandates that PPSD must offer two periods of English language development per day taught by ESL-certified teachers, which was part of the initial 2018 agreement. The district must also staff the Newcomer Academy with “a sufficient number” of ESL-certified instructors by Jan. 1, 2025, but it did not specify the number needed.
Additionally, instructors must be trained on teaching strategies that are specific for newcomers, including understanding students’ diverse experiences, cultures, values, beliefs, and worldviews.
PPSD must also provide translators to parents and guardians who are not fluent in English in order to learn about their child’s education opportunities.
In a joint statement Wednesday afternoon, PPSD and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) officials said over $5 million has been spent on supporting multilingual learners across the district over the past six years, including funds for staffing, certification, translation and interpretation services, and high-quality curriculum and professional development. The state took over control of the school district in 2019.
“With the commitment and support of the state under the state Intervention, Providence Public Schools continues to make progress in addressing decades of underperformance and dysfunction,” said Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. “We’re pleased that the Department of Justice has recognized RIDE and PPSD’s considerable progress in addressing systemic non-compliance issues that have hindered the success for multilingual learners for far too long.”
School officials pointed out they were ending federal monitoring Wednesday for the district’s services for nearly 8,000 multilingual learners well ahead of Boston Public Schools, which has been under its own settlement agreement with the DOJ since 2010.
Monitoring at Newcomer Academy is set to end at the conclusion of the 2026-2027 academic year, according to the new agreement.
“We believe in the promise of our multilingual learners and have invested significant time, resources, and supports, to rectify longstanding compliance issues,” said PPSD Superintendent Javier Montañez.
The Newcomer Academy is separate from the school district’s newcomer program, which covers grades 9-12 and follows a traditional in-person class model at Central High School.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.